


American Dream: Regent's Nightmare

by MimicMariana (LaEmperatrizMariana)



Series: ☆ It's "Unova" like "Universe" ☆ [6]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Human/Pokemon Mention, Mild Language, Talking Pokemon, comparing the token hot guy to one of the 'sexy' pokemon, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:01:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 28,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27804229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaEmperatrizMariana/pseuds/MimicMariana
Summary: N has to attend a photoshoot for an annual holiday photo, and later has to have his portrait painted because he's now the King of Unova. Meanwhile, an inspector from the United Regions has also come to visit and he's staying at the castle for a few days.
Series: ☆ It's "Unova" like "Universe" ☆ [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1482413





	1. A Crumbling Inheritance

**Author's Note:**

> I'm tired.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone wakes up early to get ready for the photoshoot.

Having rested well, N woke up early the next morning and headed for the kitchen, after washing up. He stopped in the middle of the hallway, nearly paralyzed by a sudden vision of doom. He turned around and saw a Musharna floating towards his father’s room. Musharna hadn’t noticed N and attempted to unlock the door with a key he had in his trunk. N gasped and hurried over to Musharna, who struggled to open the door.

“Don’t go in there!” hissed N, which spooked Musharna, since he hadn’t detected N until he spoke to him.

“But my friend asked me to,” whispered Musharna. “He’s been worried sick about your father and he wants me to help him find out what was wrong, so we could help.”

“The concern is justified, but this isn't a good time,” said N. “Moments ago, I had a vision warning me that my father was exposed to an airy pink mist for several minutes and became immediately enraged as soon as someone touched him. Dream Mist is pink, so doing this the morning before the photoshoot…”

“I promise not to disturb him and will keep my distance,” said Musharna. “I need to sample a bit of his dream to show to my friend.”

It didn’t take much to convince N of the urgency. He took Musharna’s key and opened Ghetsis’ room. The only one awake was Cofagrigus who spotted N and Musharna. He was uneasy upon seeing them enter without his trainer’s permission, but said nothing since he could read their harmless intentions.

As soon as they got close to Ghetsis’ bed, N held Musharna so he could fully concentrate on devouring Ghetsis’ dreams, and not worry about levitation. Cofagrigus covered his mouth as he observed Musharna eat the dream. Musharna was quick and wiggled as soon as he was done. N carefully moved him out of the way and hurried out of the room, as Cofagrigus followed, locking the door behind them.

The three went down the hallway, hurrying down the stairs towards the kitchen. As soon as N started looking for the pot to heat up Cofagrigus’ coffee on the stove, Cofagrigus said to them, “I hope to Arceus that you ate up his entire dream because if there is a remnant left, he will know and he will be _furious_.”

“I ate it all,” said Musharna. He puffed up a small plume of smoke. Pictured in the plume was a young nervous green-haired boy who was sitting on a chair and an unidentifiable adult was brushing his long curly hair. However, the adult was too rough and pulling on the boy’s scalp, because he had three stray locks of hair that refused to stay down. The little boy was too scared of the adult to tell them they were being too rough and hurting him.

N gasped when he realized that little boy wasn’t himself.

"He must have been having a nightmare about the photoshoot," said Cofagrigus. "He's always dreaded them. I never knew he had unpleasant experiences with them in the past. He's better at hiding his fears, than I thought. This is both impressive and disturbing."

"But father has always been so cheerful about the photoshoots, though," replied N. "I thought he liked them because they are the perfect opportunity to dress up in cute regal historical outfits. He's always been the most beautiful and elegant one in the photos and he's aware of this fact and proud of it too."

"Maybe he's trying his best to keep it as pleasant as possible for you and your sisters," said Cofagrigus. “He has his reasons to hate them, and doesn’t want to impose those reasons onto you all.”

N sighed, "Reshiram has told me that sooner or later, the truth shall be revealed. And another reason we must look our best in these photos, for father's sake."

"Here comes my friend!" squealed Musharna as he saw Sage Ryoku enter the kitchen. He hurried to meet up with him.

Ryoku spotted Musharna and handed him a treat. Musharna was rescued from Dr. Fennel by the Shadow Triad a couple of years ago, when he was a Munna. Being Team Plasma's expert Psychic-type trainer, Ryoku took Munna under his care and trained him. Ryoku wanted Musharna to be his covert agent, but he was too brutally honest for the job. 

Unaware that Musharna told N everything he needed to know, Ryoku approached N and said to him, "Good morning, your majesty. Are you excited about the photoshoot?"

“Yes sir,” replied N as he opened one of the refrigerators in search of leftovers, as he waited for Cofagrigus’ coffee to boil. 

“That’s good,” said Ryoku. He then whispered to N, “I have a feeling that the photoshoot will be great this year. You will be equipped with the Unovan Royal Regalia because you’re the king. And your father is finally free to dress down a bit, just like he always wanted.”

“Does he really hate doing these photoshoots?” asked N.

“Yes, he’s always complained to us about them,” said Ryoku. “Yesterday, he vented to me for a bit. He thinks it’s demeaning. Sage Zinzolin tries to encourage him, which seems to work but I don’t approve of his choice of words.” Ryoku paused and added, “It sounds like he’s flirting with him. I don’t care to repeat what he said.”

Meanwhile, back at his room, Ghetsis had woken up and brushed his teeth. Before he took his shower, he stopped by his personal water cooler for a drink. Fortunately, Musharna completely devoured his nightmare that he had no recollection of it and woke up in a pleasant mood. He heard a knock at the door and answered it, it was Sage Zinzolin. Since he was in a good mood, he greeted Zinzolin with a peck on his cheek. 

Surprised he was kissed, Zinzolin froze in place. He dared not say anything about it, since he had known his friend for years and knew that he was the insecure, self-conscious type. Smiling, Zinzolin said, “You’ve rested well.”

“Yes,” said Ghetsis. “I’m surprised too; nearly forgot about today's photoshoot until I saw it written on my calendar.” Ghetsis pointed at the calendar by the water cooler. He took another drink of water.

Zinzolin looked at the calendar, which had a photo of an adorable baby Tynamo, napping on a black satin pillow.

“Hold on,” whispered Ghetsis, who hurried past Zinzolin and headed back to his bed. His Hydreigon was still asleep, mostly covered with the blankets, except for his left hind leg. Zinzolin felt his cold, frozen heart race, as he watched Ghetsis reaching over and grabbing Hydreigon’s exposed paw. Hydreigon quickly tucked in his little paw soon as it was touched. Satisfied, Ghetsis covered up Hydreigon and headed back to the bathroom.

Zinzolin clutched his chest. Even though Ghetsis and Hydreigon had known each other for years, such a dangerous pokémon was never to be trusted. Ghetsis, of course, clearly had no chill…or sense of self-preservation.

As Zinzolin was getting ready to leave, Ghetsis turned on the shower which immediately woke up Hydreigon. Hydreigon saw Zinzolin and said to him, "Oh, it's you. Good morning. I have to go help bathe my friend because his legs have been wobbly lately. I don’t want him to fall over and get hurt. Excuse me." Hydreigon levitated past Zinzolin and entered the bathroom, closing the door.

Of course, Zinzolin had no clue what Hydreigon said to him, but figured it was a greeting and took his leave. Zinzolin headed to the Harmonias' dressing room. The night before, Ghetsis sent the Sages a group text, asking them to help pick out an outfit for N because N wasn't sure what to wear. Sage Rood was already there. On one of the tables, he had Ghetsis’ outfit laid out. Concerned about appearances, Ghetsis almost always picked out his outfit about two months in advance. Rood was trying to figure out something appropriate for N.

Noticing Zinzolin, Rood said, “Good morning. I was hoping you’d come over. Need a little fashion advice. What do you think about this look, for N?”

Zinzolin pulled out his glasses case and equipped his glasses. “Not bad. We just need to figure out how to convince N that it’s okay to dress this extravagantly. He doesn’t want to upstage his father, but N is the king and _must_ have the most eye-catching outfit.”

"Hard to believe that these royal outfits are hundreds of years old," said Rood. "The Galvantulas do an excellent job of patching up these clothes. You can't even tell where they made repairs. Same with that pack of Timburrs who have just moved in because of the damage done to the castle. It's beautiful that these pokémon are preserving these ancient artifacts on their own. Had we somehow lost, this castle would deteriorate and look like the Dragonspiral Tower and Relic Castle."

"Sage Ryoku was talking about this the other day," said Zinzolin. “Buildings, clothes, are all meant to be used. This castle’s real magic is that it feels alive. Much like the cells in our body, its pieces are continuously replaced. People and pokémon both take part in its maintenance because it's everyone's home.”

"Yes, this ‘magic’ is why everyone's so obsessed with the castle," replied Rood. "They find its preserved state intriguing but dislike that it’s because of the Harmonias. They're the heart and soul of this castle; all four of them. Don’t mean to derail the conversation, but help me find some nice shoes for Ghetsis.”

Zinzolin picked up a pair of ivory-colored shoes, “What’s wrong with these? He looks good in them.”

“They have heels,” replied Rood. “He’s going to fall on his ass if he tries to wear those. His legs and ankles have been giving out more frequently. I don’t even think flats are safe for him.”

“What if he just equips these shoes right before they take the photos?” asked Zinzolin. “I don’t think there’s any rules against him sitting down in a chair. He’d still look regal and save face.”

Rood facepalmed. He was growing tired of Ghetsis insistence in concealing his debilitating condition from the public. The more Ghetsis tried to hide it, the more glaringly obvious it became. In fact, many people speculated that Ghetsis was terminally ill because he suddenly stopped making public appearances. 

But the truth was that Ghetsis had recently hit andropause, like his fellow sages, and that hormonal change was enough to completely topple him. 

For years, Ghetsis was barely able to contain the immense power that came with learning too many pokémon moves. After all, when a person learned 10 or more moves, they became physically afflicted and this self-inflicted curse incapacitated them, depending on the affected part. Ghetsis was said to have known more than 30, because he had attempted to learn one fast and one charged move from each of the 18 types. This is why his right eye and right hand were disfigured; they were sacrificed in exchange for more power, alongside his hopes and dreams.

Not once, during the time he began to learn moves back when he was 15, did he ever stop to think it was going to negatively affect him as he got older. He only cared about his powers making him so strong he was unable to cower and cry. But then, Ghetsis was a bit Rash and never thought things through. If he had lied to anyone, it was lying about how organized and methodical he was. (He’s not.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Ghetsis has an unfortunate habit of not telling anyone what’s wrong. But that’s because he feels he must live up to the expectation that he’s “perfect” and shouldn’t have anything wrong with him.
>   * He needs assistance, but he only trusts his pokémon to help him. He’s also the type of man who would not take any medicine unless a pokémon made it for him and he saw the pokémon make it.
>   * It seems a bit odd to say that Ghetsis wears heels, but my initial impression of him was that he was the “French villain”. Specifically, that he’s a pre-revolution Baroque monarchical dictator, that had to be overthrown. Though I do find it fascinating that he doesn’t wear jewelry and wears very modest, comfy shoes. N, on the other hand, has bracelets and chains.
> 



	2. Those Tricky Treats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family has breakfast together.

Anthea woke up and saw the clock. Worried because she was late for clinicals, she abruptly jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Concordia woke up, but thought nothing of it, assuming her sister needed to use the bathroom. However, when she heard the shower, she got up and knocked on the door, before going in. 

Grabbing her toothbrush, Concordia said, "What are you doing? The photoshoot isn't until 9:30 AM."

"Ugh!" cried Anthea. "I forgot. I thought I was late for school. Oh well, at least I'll have time to add the finishing touches to my dress. Gothitelle…told me that they're likely going to send me to Floccesy Town."

After rinsing her mouth, Concordia said, "You have to get up extra early _again_?"

"Yes," said Anthea. "I'm sure that the nursing program is doing this on purpose in an attempt to sabotage me. They don't want the 'Team Plasma Girl' to graduate. Gothitelle also said that they're busy writing up a résumé for me and my classmates, but mostly for me, so a Pokémon Center would hire me as soon as I graduate. They know that I'm not going to apply to work in one because I'm going to use my skills and license for Team Plasma's benefit. It's why I studied for this. I wish to make Team Plasma as self-sufficient as possible; no more relying on the League for our pokémon's basic medical care."

"And I hear others say that _we're_ the ones being manipulated at home," sighed Concordia. "This is why I didn't want to go into pokémon nursing. I knew they'd pull this nonsense on us. Imagine the strain of sending us both to two different clinical locations?"

"Yes, but if I didn't do it, who would?" asked Anthea. "Sacrifices must be made for the sake of our team. We need a licensed professional on our side who doesn't have an agenda against us."

Concordia rolled her eyes. As much as her sister's concerns were sound, the paranoia often associated with forming a telepathic bond with a Psychic-type was getting to Anthea's head. So many possibilities exist but only a few come to fruition and these psychics spend their time worrying about things that may not even happen. "I'm going to go to the kitchen and get some breakfast."

"Okay," replied Anthea, who continued to shower. 

After brushing her hair, Concordia headed to the kitchen. Walking down the hallway, she spotted N's Woobat, who was lying inside a decorative bowl. Concerned because Woobats hang on the ceilings with their heart-shaped nose's suction when they sleep, she picked him up and carried him to the kitchen. 

N was having breakfast with Sage Ryoku, discussing Relic Castle, as Ghetsis’ Cofagrigus drank his morning coffee and chatted with Ryoku's Musharna. Not wanting to interrupt them, she placed Woobat on the counter and looked for the small Max Revives in the refrigerator. She found one and fed it to Woobat, who immediately recovered. He had no idea why he was in the kitchen or why Concordia was in front of him.

"What happened?" asked Woobat.

Assuming he asked about what had occurred to him, Concordia shrugged. Woobat decided to fly towards N and perched on his head. 

Sensing him, N squeaked, "Good morning. You've come to present your report to me?"

Having absolutely no clue what N was talking about, Woobat decided to take a guess. N was impossible to mind-read, so Woobat had no choice but to tell him the last thing he remembered. "Your sisters were already asleep when I went to check on them. As for your dad, he was being naughty; reading that same small book you always read at night, but under the blanket without a flashlight."

"He doesn't need a flashlight," replied N. "His right eye glows and he can see in the dark with it. He often reads in the dark to make use of that eye. But thank you. I was worried about the photoshoot today, and wanted to make sure all of them had a goodnight's rest."

Woobat sighed, relieved that he guessed correctly. N signaled to him that he was dismissed and Woobat flew off, back to the belfry to join up with the rest of his colony. 

Concordia sat next to N. She brought a bowl filled with Toon Buneary cereal and began to eat it dry, without milk. Ryoku saw the cereal and said to N, "You used to love this cereal."

"I ate too much and got tired of it," replied N. The truth was that he stopped eating the Buneary cereal when he discovered that it _wasn't_ going to make him as powerful as a Buneary. He was only 7 years old when he came to this realization. He felt betrayed because it was his mother who told him this. Much later, when he was about 13 years old, N realized that his mother was trying to wean him off of breastfeeding back then and the only way she could do it was to reason with him; appealing to his innate desire for power. 

"You should give it another chance," said Concordia. "It's been years since you ate it anyway." She grabbed a small handful of cereal and handed it to N.

The Buneary cereal was lightly sweetened toasted Cornn Berry flakes. Some flakes were plain and others were cinnamon-flavored. This cereal was Concordia's favorite since her first taste and she even had vague memories of that moment. She was a toddler sitting on her father's lap while he was writing one of his speeches. He had a bowl of dry cereal he was snacking on. The way he often stopped to eat the cereal instead of continuing to write, made it seem really good, so she asked him for some. He handed her a plain flake and a cinnamon flake, both of which she liked. They continued to eat from the same bowl as he resumed his writing. 

N tried the cereal. Despite it being very pleasant to his palate, he could still taste the disappointment of it not giving him Buneary strength and agility. Smiling, he said, "Not bad."

"That reminds me, I must pack some cereal and powdered milk for my expedition to Relic Castle," said Ryoku. "I'll have to meet with the Ruin Maniac recruits accompanying me to decide which cereal to buy from Alakazam's Club."

"This one with Buneary is good," replied Concordia. "It's one of the least-sugary cereals and it's gluten-free. It's why father buys it and it tastes great with or without milk."

"I'll try to look for it," replied Ryoku. "But that cereal is imported from Sinnoh and as far as I know, it's only available at that Sinnohan ethnic shop in Undella Town."

“Really?” asked Concordia, who got up and went to grab the box. It was written in the Sinnohan dialect. She compared it to another Nanab Berry cereal, whose box was written in Unovan.

Anthea suddenly entered the kitchen, with her long hair wrapped up in a towel. She hurried and grabbed a large griddle and then looked in the refrigerator for butter, a green onion, and a single Lucky Egg, which her Gothitelle had given her yesterday. Anthea had no idea where Gothitelle got the Lucky Egg, but was grateful for the gift. She sliced a piece of butter and chopped the onions with the same knife because she couldn’t be bothered to use another knife.

Curious, N got up and asked his sister, “I’ve heard these are filled with ‘happiness’ instead of egg yolk, like regular eggs, is this true?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” said Anthea, as she cracked open the Lucky Egg into a bowl. Its yolk was sparkling yellow. “N, please fetch me the milk. I forgot to take it out.”

N grabbed the Bouffalant milk and handed it to Anthea, who poured it in the bowl and began to mix it in with the yolk. Even though it looked like she knew exactly what she was doing, Anthea had no clue what she was doing. All she knew was that Lucky Eggs contained “happiness” and she hoped to make enough scrambled eggs for her family to eat, so they’d feel at ease about all those strangers coming over to visit them today.

N turned on the burner again, and stood a safe distance away from the stove. He extended his arms and channeled his burning energy to create an ominous blue fireball between his hands. N used Will-O-Wisp! The burner was ignited. 

Anthea smiled and said, “Thank you.” She placed the large griddle on the burner and dropped the butter slice and onion slices on it, allowing them to sizzle.

Just then, Ghetsis entered the kitchen, accompanied by his Hydreigon and Eelektross. In his left hand, he held the Royal Harmonia Scepter which he was using as a cane. He sat down next to Concordia and greeted her with a hug, and did the same with Ryoku. He handed the scepter to Concordia, as he pulled out a scrunchie and tied back his hair. Ryoku smiled kindly, relieved that his plan to have Musharna sneak into Ghetsis’ room and devour his bad dreams had worked. N noticed Ghetsis, blew his hands to cool them off, and went to greet him.

Meanwhile, Cofagrigus and Musharna looked on, trying their best to remain calm. During their conversation, Musharna revealed to Cofagrigus that Ghetsis’ dream tasted more like a pokémon’s dream than a human dream, despite his dreams still being quite human in nature. This disturbed Musharna because it felt unnatural and wrong.

Cofagrigus smiled and said, “I don’t see anything wrong with that. But I say this as a pokémon who started life off as a human. The unexpected loss of my humanity caused me as much grief as my caffeine and nicotine withdrawal. Once I overcame the loss of my addictions, I found peace as a pokémon that I would never have had as a human. I hope my friend someday finds similar peace in his mutated state.”

“You were a human?!” gasped Musharna.

“Yes,” chuckled Cofagrigus. “I was eliminated nearly 60 years ago, when my car was run off the road and into a canyon. I remember most of my life and my accomplishments prior to my untimely demise. However, I have forgotten the most important thing – my name. I had an existential crisis because of this, but soon I found peace. Names are important and meaningful to humans and by having forgotten my name, I shed my last bits of humanity. I _do_ remember I was very loyal to the Unovan King at the time. He was a good man, deserving of loyalty but undeserving of his fate. I wonder if this was why I was reborn as a Yamask. My devotion to him was so strong that I was reborn as a pokémon who’s a king’s symbol of wealth. Now, I serve the king’s grandson and his great-grandchildren.”

Musharna frowned. But then again, Ghost-types are naturally spooky and as a Psychic-type, he should’ve seen this coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * N’s characteristic is that he is _Proud of his power_. His mom knew this about him before he could even crawl.
>   * The Buneary cereal was loosely based on [Trix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trix_\(cereal\)) by General Mills, except that it tastes like another General Mills’ cereal – [Cinnamon Toast Crunch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_Toast_Crunch). 
>   * Am I the only one who questioned why Lucky Eggs had “happiness” inside of them? It sounds like drugs to me. But I’m sure The Pokémon Company has come up with some excuse as to why it’s not drugs. 
>   * Cofagrigus was an investigative reporter who investigated the king’s sudden death after he abdicated the throne. He discovered the Truth and was eliminated for it. He has compelling reasons to be distrustful of humans, except Ghetsis, who is clearly a good man like his grandpa.
> 



	3. The Obvious Substitute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar face arrives at Professor Juniper's lab.

Later that morning, at around 8:09 AM, Professor Juniper received a call from a soft-spoken man. He stated that his Stoutland had given birth to a Yamper and he was interested in registering his newborn puppy but was unable to travel south to Nuvema Town. The man asked the Professor if it was more convenient for her, or her assistant, to travel north to inspect the puppy at his house. He told her he was willing to pay any travel expense, since he claimed to live on the other side of the map. She asked for his home address and phone number, because she needed to check the schedule if she could accommodate such a trip. She got a scrap piece of paper and a mechanical pencil, to take notes. The man gave her his phone number, which sounded familiar and his home address. After double-checking the details, the man bid her farewell before hanging up.

Since the number was familiar, Professor Juniper headed to her office and turned on her Murkrowsoft Windows XP laptop. Being almost a decade old, the laptop took a while to boot up. She was aware that other professors had started using Rotoms on their computers, (because everyone generally hated Murkrosoft Windows Vista), but she didn’t think it was worth the risk. Most Rotoms she had encountered were very mischievous. After the computer was running, she decided to type in the phone number. Sure enough, her suspicions were correct – the number was in their database. It belonged to Lord Ghetsis Harmonia-Gropius the Fifth of Unova, except that his name was written as “The Ghetman”. The address was Ghetsis’ home address too – 505 Victory Road, Harmonia Castle’s location.

The revelation took her by surprise, because Ghetsis sounded differently over the phone. He usually sounded more outgoing and borderline theatrical. Concerned, Professor Juniper went to her father because she wanted his advice. She showed her father, the previous and now retired professor, Cedric Juniper, the phone number she took down and the phone number written on their database.

It was not the first time Ghetsis called the professor regarding registering a Galarian pokémon. He had done it many times over the years, because one of the Seven Sages was Galarian and he allowed his pokémon to breed. The last time Ghetsis had called was a year and a half ago, because one of the baby Yamasks was the Galarian form. However, Ghetsis only called to announce his arrival and showed up with the baby pokémon, the Galarian Sage, and the grunt who was to be gifted the baby pokémon. But this was the first time Ghetsis wanted the professors to visit him.

Professor Juniper checked her schedule and they had time to pay him a visit, because it was the slow part of the season. Not sure if this was one of Ghetsis’ odd and complicated schemes, Mr. Juniper decided to return the call and put it on speakerphone.

The caller answered and it was the same soft-spoken man Professor Juniper spoke to earlier. “Good morning, I take it you have some good news for me. If not, I’ll see if I can go there myself later this week. Or perhaps next week. Hopefully, soon.”

Cedric Juniper couldn’t help but wince. This was indeed Ghetsis. Mr. Juniper remembered meeting Ghetsis long ago, back when he was the professor’s assistant and Ghetsis was a 15 year old boy getting his starter. Ghetsis had a soft, meek voice like this. “Yes we do. Although our prices have changed since the last time you called us. Round trip, this will cost you $45. That’s not counting the DNA testing and the rest of the legal documentation. You’re looking at something in the $320-$340 range and most of that comes from the legal fees because Galar is very strict about the exportation of their native pokémon. And yes, I accept debit, credit, personal checks, and money orders as payment, but no cash.”

“I am prepared to pay that fee and even a little more, since my schedule is very busy today and I know this must be done as soon as possible,” said Ghetsis.

“Busy?” asked Mr. Juniper in near disbelief. As far as he was concerned, Ghetsis barely did anything because he gave his speeches twice a month. Nonchalantly, he asked again, “What are you doing?”

Trying to maintain his cool because he hated others questioning his actions, Ghetsis replied, “I’m having the annual Royal Family Plasmas photo taken. There’s also people from the United Regions coming over to inspect my castle. This newborn puppy was born yesterday evening. I was surprised that both eggs my Stoutland incubated were viable and that’s why I didn’t call sooner when I spotted the Yamper egg.”

Mr. Juniper rolled his eyes. Ghetsis was a man who genuinely believed in pokémon liberation, so he refused to keep pokémon in boxes. As a result, they wandered around the castle, mating with each other, and laying eggs – all unsupervised. Mr. Juniper felt this was very irresponsible. Still, he reluctantly accepted Ghetsis’ request and told him he’d be coming over in an hour and a half. He turned to his daughter and said, “I’ve been wanting to see a Yamper. I’m aware that Team Plasma has a Boltund, but that was a male. The probability of seeing a Yamper was smaller than hatching a shiny.”

Professor Juniper, who was reviewing the schedule as her dad was making the call said to him, “There’s a problem. Our lab assistant, Bianca, can’t make it. She’s working with Fennel today.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door and the Junipers looked at each other, before Professor Juniper hurried to answer the door. It was Bianca’s friend, a short, brown-haired girl named Hilda, who was accompanied by her Oshawatt and her Budew.

Hilda was originally going to begin her pokémon adventure last year, but her mother decided against it at the last minute. This decision was shocking for most of Nuvema Town, since Hilda’s mom was a very good trainer and everyone thought her daughter was going to follow in her footsteps. Hilda’s mom had even bred her signature pokémon – a Roserade, and gifted the baby Budew to Hilda a few years prior, in preparation for this trip. Hilda’s mom claimed to have had a horrible nightmarish vision saying that her only daughter set out on her journey but never returned home. (Apparently, she got caught up with some tall troublesome man and disappeared, chasing after him.) Since the people of Nuvema Town believed in such visions, they understood Hilda’s mom’s reservations. Hilda was heartbroken, because she wanted to be a trainer just like her mom and travel the countryside with her best friends, who set out on their adventure without her. About a week or so after Hilda was held back, Professor Juniper still gave her an Oshawott. Since then, Hilda has worked a few jobs running quick errands for neighbors and the professor, while her best friends became trainers.

Today was no different and she was going to fill-in as Bianca's substitute. She had begun to work as a substitute lab assistant last month because Bianca requested it and the professors unanimously agreed. Hilda’s mom had been recently hospitalized and was unable to work. Hilda had been trying to apply at other places without success. (The managers interviewing saw Hilda as a childish young girl and deemed her unfit to work.)

Hilda punched in and guided her pokémon to Professor Juniper’s office. She spotted Professor Juniper and Mr. Juniper in the office and waited outside, assuming they were having an important meeting.

Budew squeaked quietly to Oshawott, “Psst…you have ninja powers. What are they saying?”

“They’re talking about the Horoscope Guy,” replied Oshawott.

“Ugh,” sighed Budew.

Professor Juniper quickly opened the door and asked Hilda to enter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Ghetsis actually speaks gently like he did during the phone call. The way he speaks in public is purely an act. 
>   * In this AU, it’s possible for a pokémon to lay an egg of the father’s species. It’s just super-rare (rarer than a shiny) that it’s practically unheard of. 
>   * Team Plasma had won almost a year ago because Hilda wasn’t there to mess things up. However, this AU’s N appears to be a boy of strong principles who wouldn’t easily get seduced by some booty-shorts girl. 
>   * Hilda now has a Budew because when I played Sword, the game’s mom didn’t give me a Budew. If my IRL mom had Budews, she would’ve given me one a long time ago and I would’ve treasured it. 
>   * Oshawott calling Ghetsis, “the Horoscope Guy” is meant to compare him to Walter Mercado. Even though there’s a Horoscope Guy mentioned in the game.
> 



	4. Some Subtle Warnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hilda travels with Cedric Juniper to see the baby Yamper.

Hilda noticed that the Professor and her father were standing over the laptop, which displayed a spreadsheet. Smiling, Professor Juniper said to Hilda, “Good morning, I have a surprise for you.”

Hilda’s eyes widened and extended her arms as she said, “Gimme…!”

“It’s not a physical gift,” chuckled Professor Juniper. “We got a call today from a man wanting to register his Galarian pokémon who was born here in Unova yesterday evening. He can't make it here, so he'd like for us to go over to his house. So I was wondering if you’d be interested in traveling with my dad, since this type of job requires an assistant and Bianca is busy. It’s up north by Lacunosa Town.”

“That’s by Victory Road…,” gasped Hilda.

“Yes,” replied Professor Juniper, who was surprised that Hilda recognized the area since it was so far up north and she had only traveled around Southern Unova. “What do you say? At least you’ll be able to sight-see while you’re there.”

“Of course,” said Hilda, who could barely contain her excitement. She had some pokéballs on hand and hoped it was her chance to do some catching because Nuvema Town and the nearby areas seemed to be picked clean from pokémon, at least when she managed to head out.

Fortunately, Hilda was well-prepared for this trip. Last week, she had been taught how to document pokémon. The former Unovan Champion, Alder, arrived at the lab with a baby Snom (whom he affectionately called "Icy Larvesta".) A few years ago, the Galarian League chairman, a man named Rose, gifted Alder a young female Snom so he could help with conservation by breeding her in Unova. For this reason, Alder didn't pay any registration fees but he was required to send the baby Snoms to Galar for release. 

Hilda had heard a lot about Alder from her friend, Cheren, who she was supposed to travel with last year along with Bianca. However, Cheren was peeved by Alder and claimed that Alder needed to "mind his business". Cheren described the champion as overbearing, nosy, and guilt-tripping. But when Hilda met Alder, he was nothing like Cheren had described. He was a nice older man who was excited about pokémon and had interesting anecdotes to share. Hilda also remembered that Cheren was a bit head-strong and didn't like to be told what to do.

After a bit of orientation, Mr. Juniper and Hilda got ready before heading out. Hilda sat in the front passenger side of Mr. Juniper's maroon Houndai, as her Oshawatt and his Samurott sat in the back. Budew was small and Hilda sat her on her lap. It was there that Mr. Juniper explained that they were going to Team Plasma Castle because that's where the Yamper puppy was at.

Upon hearing “Team Plasma Castle,” Hilda immediately regretted her decision to go but remained silent. The castle was practically right next door to the Pokémon League Building. Still, she couldn't help but worry about her two pokémon getting stolen. She had heard that stronger trainers hung out up north, including Team Plasma grunts with strong pokémon.

Sensing her concern, Mr. Juniper said, “Yes, I do feel some remorse for agreeing to go over there but the call was from Lord Ghetsis himself. Normally, he would've come to our lab like Alder did but he told me he was busy. I was too nervous to ask him to postpone it.” He started his Houndai and pulled out of the driveway.

"I heard one of his speeches last year," said Hilda. "He didn't seem mean, even if he was saying he got cursed but that sounded like an exaggeration."

"My dear, the problem _is_ the curse," said Mr. Juniper. "It has affected his mind, not just his arm and eye. As he says, he brought this curse upon himself for personally battling pokémon. There’s times he seems less than a human and that’s when he creeps me out. It's worse because I met him _before_ he got cursed; back when he was Normal. He seemed like a sweet but spoiled kid, but not someone who'd become a heartless inhuman freak 15 years later. He insists he's fine, but he's lying!"

Hilda smiled uncomfortably. She had been battling pokémon herself after hearing Ghetsis' speech last year. She felt bad for both Oshawott and Budew who wanted to travel so they could train and become stronger. But she didn't think she was doing anything dangerous, because it sounded like Ghetsis was trying to scare the public so they would stop training pokémon. However, if Mr. Juniper said it was bad to battle pokémon yourself, then it was bad. She had no reason to doubt him.

Budew understood and got sad. She loved to train with Hilda and Oshawott. She felt their friendship with each other strengthen when they did it. The last thing she wanted was for something terrible to happen to Hilda because of this.

"If he's so cursed, why does Team Plasma insist on keeping him as their representative?" asked Hilda.

"It's because public speaking is a gift that few of us possess," replied Mr. Juniper. "I can't speak to the public without panicking and neither can Aurea, the Professor. Those other Team Plasma admins seem nervous too. Only Lord Ghetsis and his son, King Natural, are the only ones in Team Plasma who aren't afraid to speak their minds. I even think King Natural is bolder than Ghetsis."

“King Natural scared me,” said Hilda. "I could’ve sworn he used ‘Mean Look’ in his televised speech. He stared straight into the camera with a dark, arresting look. We couldn't change the channel or turn off the TV. Strangely, this has never happened when I watched pokémon battles on TV or online, and the pokémon uses Mean Look."

Mr. Juniper sighed, but then he wasn’t surprised that N would do that. Ghetsis seemed to be exactly the type of hypocrite who’d warn the public about the dangers of personally battling pokémon and then, turn around and continue to do so while encouraging his children. (Mr. Juniper had no idea that N used Mean Look on his own, against Ghetsis' wishes. N wanted everyone to listen to his speech and pinning them in place was the only logical, efficient option.)

Wanting to change the subject, Mr. Juniper said, "I'm sure you'll see plenty of pokémon at Team Plasma Castle, including the various species who can learn Mean Look. That reminds me, we need to upgrade your pokédex, and unlock the National Dex."

Mr. Juniper continued to talk about the National Dex, saying that every region had decided to create a universal index of pokémon. About 12 years ago, due to the worsening environmental crisis which included the decline of native species, Galar withdrew from the National Dex. Fearing that this would lead to increased poaching, the registration process was established.

Getting into the conversation, Mr. Juniper realized that as a driver, he was unable to upgrade the pokédex along the way. So he decided to teach Hilda how to update it herself, instead. That way, she could register the Yamper and other random pokémon they might possibly encounter at Team Plasma Castle.

After Hilda finished, Mr. Juniper said, "Excellent! With practice, you can help update other trainers' pokédexes."

"These pokédexes need to come with the Nat Dex pre-installed," said Hilda. 

"Yes, but many trainers will get frustrated that they're unable to register every single pokémon that exists," replied Mr. Juniper. "Some pokémon are exclusive to other regions, but that's because it's their natural habitat. It's less of a hassle to give trainers pokédexes that only include our beloved regionals, which are more common, than…let's say, a Pikachu."

Mr. Juniper looked around and whispered to Hilda, "This is also a perfect opportunity to inform the United Regions representative that it's a terrible idea to install a Poké Stop in and around Team Plasma Castle. They want to because the castle is a World Heritage Site and this qualifies it for a nomination. I also must convince King Natural that a Poké Stop will tarnish his castle's beauty."

"The Poké Stops don't make places ugly though," replied Hilda.

"Yes, but this is Team Plasma's headquarters," said Mr. Juniper. "It doesn't sound right for innocent trainers to get close to that location and risk having their pokémon stolen. I'm aware that the Pokémon League Building was built so close to the castle. I also wish they'd move it, but the League insists that up north is the most perfect location. They argue that Team Plasma was founded decades after the Pokémon League Building was built. But the castle belongs to one of the Seven Sages, Lord Ghetsis, and it’s considered private property. He’s free to do whatever he wants at his house as long as it doesn’t diminish the castle’s cultural significance."

Mr. Juniper paused. As far as he was concerned, Team Plasma using the castle as its headquarters was disrespecting its cultural significance. The reason the castle was still standing was because of people and pokémon, cooperating and collaborating in its maintenance together.

However, he wasn't surprised that Ghetsis allowed this to happen. He remembered the first time he met Ghetsis, many years ago. Right away, Ghetsis' pacifist nature stuck out; other boys were usually excited to battle at gyms. Ghetsis' reluctance to catch Patrat because he "couldn't throw something the size of Patrat's skull" at the Patrat he had to practice catching, was an instant red flag. An ominous sign warning him that Ghetsis was nothing but trouble, which sadly proved to be true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Hilda was asked to go to N’s Castle (Harmonia Castle) because it’s the only chance she’d get to go there. (At least, as of this fic.) 
>   * She is also dressed in slacks and has her hair up with a big bow tying her ponytail. She is also wearing a jacket because it’s chilly. So her outfit here is similar to Sonia from SwSh. And yes, Hilda is still wearing her boots.
>   * Rose gave Alder a Snom as a publicity stunt, since the longest-reigning Unovan Champion was said to have a certain fondness for Moth Pokémon. 
>   * Young Ghetsis was basically a brat like Bede, except he had the awkward cuteness that N is supposed to have. But Ghetsis insists he was an innocent boy who was always bullied because other humans are cruel. 
>   * Team Plasma Castle would definitely have multiple Poké Stops, which would just be ideal to anyone visiting the area and the Pokémon League Building. 
>   * Ghetsis thinks throwing pokéballs at pokémon is assault. It’s why he either uses Master Balls (to get over it quickly) or approaches pokémon with the ball in hand. And yes, he’s successfully caught many pokémon by approaching them and asking them if they’d want to join him.
> 



	5. The Castle’s Ascent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hilda and Cedric Juniper arrive at Harmonia Castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * The Team Plasma rumors Oshawott worries about are what canon tries to tell you. And like the fans of the games, she believes it all without question.
> 


As Mr. Juniper drove to the castle, Hilda's Oshawott was also concerned about Team Plasma. She had heard awful stories about them stealing innocent pokémon from their trainers and torturing them for their sick “research”. She had also heard that some Team Plasma members cheated during battling, making it harder for honest trainers to beat them. She turned to Samurott and whispered, “Sir, is this for real? Are we really going to Team Plasma Castle?”

“Yes,” said Samurott. “But I heard that there’s many important people visiting the castle at the same time as us, so I doubt they’d try to do anything bad in front of them. We should be safe. Just stay close and everything should be alright.”

“Okay,” said Oshawott, whose little ears wiggled and she asked Samurott, “I have a question. Why is Team Plasma called ‘Team Plasma’ and what does that have to do with ‘Plasmanity’? Did they make Plasmanity? I’ve heard Hilda and her mom talk a lot about it and I’m so confused. I wanted to ask Hilda’s mom’s pokémon but they looked like they’d scold me if I ask something ‘dumb’.”

“Plasmanity is a 2,000 year old religion native to Unova,” replied Samurott. “The basis of their beliefs is ‘the separation of people and pokémon’, but…” He looked at the young starter. He knew it was wrong to deprive her of the truth, so he continued, “…but that only revolves around marriage. While it values the close relationship between pokémon and humans, it draws a clear and definite line against them mating with each other. Plasman humans claim that such an intimate relationship is a grave sin and disrespectful to pokémon. I think it was in the 1050’s when the Unovan sect finally split from the Sinnohan sect over this. People in Sinnoh still believe that it’s okay to marry and mate with pokémon. They claim that we’re all equals and this ‘equality’ gives them that right to be together.”

“Ew…!” cried Oshawott. “That’s nasty! King N was right!”

"Samurott!" cried Mr. Juniper, thinking his pokémon was teasing the young starter. 

Samurott scoffed and added, "Since then, the Unovan sect has been embracing the name 'Plasmanity'. They're proud of their decision to maintain their boundaries. As for Team Plasma, I've been told by other pokémon that it was actually founded sometime in the 1980s by that tall green-haired man who gives speeches. I don't remember his name but I always mix him up with the Horoscope Guy. They say this Plasma Man is very devoted to the Plasman faith and that he believes that certain trainers _must_ have their pokémon taken away because they mistreat them by forcing them to battle and breed against their will. He named his team after his religion because he feels he and his teammates are doing Arceus' work by policing these boundaries."

Oshawott blinked. Team Plasma's concept was too complex for her young mind to comprehend. Although the answer she heard was reasonable, she still didn't understand why or how such a team would be considered evil. Instead, Oshawott said, "I’ve heard that Team Plasma's actual leader is a boy about Hilda's age, well maybe a little older. Why is this boy so important? Do they believe he's the Savior?"

"Plasma Man wanted his identical son, Plasma Boy, to be the king of Unova because his son can supposedly talk to pokémon," replied Samurott. "This was a gift that Ancient Unovan kings possessed because they ruled over the humans and pokémon. Among us pokémon, it's believed that Plasma Man understands pokémon too, but he is very nervous and screws up the translations. He knows his son is more confident in his ability, so that's why he encourages his son to lead and helps him from behind the scenes. They have won and Plasma Boy is now the king."

"Good for them," said Oshawott. "But I'm still not happy that they have won."

"None of us are," replied Samurott. "Team Plasma is shady. A pity that so many pokémon have sided with them. They've been seduced by the green-haired Plasma Guys' charms." He turned to look out of the window. Surprised, he said, "Oh my, we're already in Nacrene City."

Hilda sadly looked out of the window. There used to be a Normal-type gym here, but it was moved far away to Aspertia City. She looked at her phone and at Budew who had fallen asleep on her lap, before asking, "How are we going to get to the castle in half an hour?"

"Don't worry," replied Mr. Juniper, "I've got us covered thanks to a research grant." He chuckled mischievously as he pushed a button on his dashboard. A panel retracted, revealing a screen similar to what Hilda saw on her C-Gear. He drove off-road and pressed the buttons on the screen, causing his car to teleport to Unova's mysterious Entralink. 

Realizing what happened, Hilda said, "This is too much power."

"Yes, that's why only us researchers have cars like this," replied Mr. Juniper. "Although this technology is a modern recreation of the Ancient Unovan Pass Orbs. Fennel was the first to install it into her car. Since then, she's tried to make the technology more compact and accessible to everyone."

Pass Orbs were rare artifacts that teleported people to the Entralink and around Unova. Most of the original ones were destroyed in the 16th century when the Imperial colonizers came to Unova. They had hoped to immobilize Unovans in order to control them. (It never worked because Unovans were a stubborn and hardheaded lot.) In the 19th century, years after Unova regained its independence, a few of these Pass Orbs were rediscovered but the art of creating them had been lost. 

Since then, researchers have been trying to recreate them, to facilitate safer transportation. But have failed in their numerous attempts. They have managed to recreate teleportation using a combination of mirrors, lasers, and Psychic-type magic, but it's not the same as a Pass Orb, which was made of a mysterious glass and activated by singing into it.

Hilda rolled down the window and took some snapshots of Entralink from the car. She turned around to see how her Oshawott was doing. Satisfied that her starter was happy, she turned back around and she rolled the window up. Hilda checked on Budew who was still asleep. Mr. Juniper teleported to Undella Town and continued his drive until he finally reached Victory Road. Right away, the castle was visible. 

Despite it being a Baroque-style castle, it had an imposing powerful presence. So many windows, that Hilda thought it could house Nuvema Town's population three times over. Suddenly, two cloaked men in black motorcycles appeared, riding next Mr. Juniper's Houndai. Another cloaked man drove behind them. 

Hilda shot a quick glance at the rearview mirror and saw the Team Plasma logo on the motorcycles. 

Budew woke up, sensing Hilda's distress. Taking a deep breath she gathered the little sunlight available, to charge her Solar Beam. 

Oshawott was also ready to battle, but Samurott reached over and laid his paw on her shoulder. Although he sensed the cloaked men's threatening auras, they appeared to be security guards. 

"No one told me Team Plasma had ninjas!" cried Hilda. Clearly these cloaked men were the types who didn't mess around. The cloaked man who rode near the passenger side was accompanied by an equally threatening Pawniard, who sat behind him. 

It was the first time Hilda ever felt intimidated by a Pawniard. She was used to seeing them working diligently at the local deli, slicing up cheese and cured meat for customers. Despite being Dark/Steel, she couldn't imagine Pawniards being mean.

"Team Plasma has all sorts of people working for them, not just troublesome teens who dress up like Medieval Galarians," replied Mr. Juniper. "But I believe that these ninjas are Team Plasma's elite saboteurs – The Shadow Triad. They're not assassins."

The Shadow Triad followed the Houndai until it reached the castle. Then, they vanished mysteriously just as they had appeared. There, Hilda and Mr. Juniper encountered a Snorlax who had fallen asleep in the middle of the road, blocking their path. 

But they were not alone. Two men in tan coats were standing next to the Snorlax. Their car, a red AUDIno convertible, was parked nearby. The man in the fluffier coat seemed to recognize Mr. Juniper and waved at him. The other man, who wore a beige trench coat, looked on.

Mr. Juniper squinted and mumbled, "Who the hell is that?"

Since the men clearly didn't seem like menacing villainous creeps, Mr. Juniper parked next to them. The man in the fluffy coat approached them and said, "Professor Juniper!"

"Good morning, Burgh," said Mr. Juniper, as he finally recognized him. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. I'd like you to meet my assistant, Ms. Hilda White." He turned to Hilda and said, "Hilda, this is Castelia City's Gym Leader, Burgh."

"Nice to meet you," said Hilda as she waved at him.

Burgh waved back. He pointed at his companion, "This is 'Looker'. He's the United Regions representative. It's that time of year when the United Regions and the Unovan Historical Society come to inspect the castle."

An elderly woman stepped out of the red AUDIno, as the other man helped her out. Burgh said, “This is Historical Society's representative, Madame Clairdonna Riches.”

Madame Clairdonna shook Mr. Juniper’s hand. Hilda had gotten out of the car and greeted her with a handshake as she carried Budew. Clasping her hands together, Madame Clairdonna said, “This is my favorite time of year, because we’re allowed to visit the castle! I remember the first time I visited, it was back in 1951, a little after my 10th birthday. The Pokémon League Building was still under construction, but the Harmonias were generous enough to allow the League to use their front courtyard as a battlefield for the championship matches.”

“Wow…,” said Looker. “That sure is a totally different stance than the one they have today. Their animosity with the League is infamous abroad.”

“Yes, a lot has changed,” said Madame Clairdonna. “As a historian, the circumstances leading up to this drastic change make me sad. Nowadays, the castle is but a shadow of its former glory. We have many photos posted on our website, if you’re curious about its decline. Just so you’d know, I don’t blame the royal family for feeling the way they do.”

Hilda returned to Mr. Juniper's Houndai and unbuckled Oshawott and Samurott from their seats, helping both pokémon out of their seats. 

Oshawott looked at the castle and said, "This isn't a castle. This is a palace. It looks just like Kiloude City's Maison de Combat, but bigger and Unovan."

Its mention surprised Samurott. He didn’t think Oshawott would know about it, since she has never left Unova. However, Oshawott, Budew, and their mistress often watched travel shows together at home during lunch. 

Budew, who stood next to Hilda asked Oshawott, "Are we going to see that handsome prince we saw on TV?"

"Of course, he lives here," replied Oshawott, "But the professor said he was scary though."

"No, the professor said 'Ghetsis', the king, was the scary one," insisted Budew. "The prince is the young one; the one who was riding the shiny Charizard before his speech. I don't know his name, but he looks friendly and kind. That's the one I want to meet."

Oshawott turned to look at Samurott. There was no sense in arguing with a Grass-type, unless they were prepared to settle the matter with a battle. It was too early to battle and Oshawott was still cramped from the ride.

“I have texted Lord Ghetsis about the Snorlax,” said Madame Clairdonna. “Unfortunately, none of us brought a Poké Flute. He told me he’d be sending someone over. They should be here soon, I texted him roughly 5 minutes ago.”

Curious, Hilda pointed her pokédex at Snorlax. The pokédex said, “Snorlax. The Sleeping Pokémon. When its belly is full, it becomes too lethargic to even lift a finger, so it is safe to bounce on its belly.” Upon hearing the description, Oshawott’s eyes widened with excitement. However, Hilda frowned and said sternly, “No.”

Oshawott’s ears drooped, as Hilda continued reading Snorlax’s stats. She discovered that Snorlax was a captured pokémon belonging to a man named “Giallo”. 

Just then, the sweet gentle sound of a flute was heard in the distance. Snorlax heard it too and his ears wiggled. Snorlax began to stretch as the music got closer. He rolled for a bit and finally stood up. The music stopped and the Snorlax was called back to its pokéball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * If Ghetsis’ religion is called Plasmanity, I’m gonna treat it like it’s the Pokémon World’s version of Christianity. So if I describe any character as a “devout Plasman”, I’m essentially pointing out that they’re a Christian who puts their Christian values into practice. 
>   * N is the devout Plasman I’m talking about in my previous point. Which is ironic because he’s probably the one human that pokémon would absolutely love to marry, but he’d refuse because it’s against his religious beliefs. 
>   * Mr. Juniper could’ve teleported from Nuvema Town, but he chose not to since he worries that there might be long term side-effects from this artificial form of teleportation. 
>   * The scene with the Shadow Triad on motorcycles originally had them brandishing guns. But since the source material wants to omit guns, then the scene was changed around. 
>   * Only Hilda’s Budew acknowledges Ghetsis as a king.
> 



	6. Awkward Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hilda helps Cedric Juniper with registering baby Yamper. She also logs some Galarian pokémon into her pokédex.

Before them, stood an older man with dark yellow clerical vestments. He seemed unamused and said to them, "Good morning, please come on in. You may park on that small basketball court in the front."

Looker said to the man, in a Sinnohan dialect, "You blocked us with your Snorlax."

"Snorlax finds roads comfortable and I have allowed him to sleep on this seldomly traveled road," replied the man in yellow, in a Johtoan dialect. "Besides, with so many dissidents around, we can never be too careful."

Everyone got back in their car and drove to the designated parking area. As for the man, he summoned a large green and purple bird pokémon. But the man was so quick to jump on its back and fly away, that Hilda didn't have a chance to scan his pokémon with her pokédex.

When they got out of their cars, Looker inspected the basketball court. "This court was built by a Conkeldurr. It's been recently repaired."

Madame Clairdonna shot a quick glance at Burgh nervously. The basketball court and much of the castle exterior, got damaged when the Gym Leaders battled against Team Plasma. However, Team Plasma was quick to have it all repaired before the international inspections. Looker pulled out his Lysandre Labs LyPad tablet from his trench coat and took notes.

Meanwhile, Hilda got Oshawott out of her seatbelt and led her into the castle, as Mr. Juniper called his Samurott back into his pokéball. Just as Mr. Juniper said, there were several grunts in the hallways tidying up the castle and they indeed saw Hilda with her two pokémon out, but said nothing. 

The man in yellow vestments appeared again. This time he was accompanied by two female grunts. He turned to the grunts and said to them, "Mary, Madelyne, please escort the professor and his assistant to the guest room. Sage Gorm is waiting for them there."

"Yes, Sage Giallo," replied the grunt girls, as they led Hilda and Mr. Juniper to the nearby guest room.

A man with blue vestments was waiting for them in the guest room. He had an unusual black, yellow and white dog pokémon sitting next to him. Hilda pulled out her pokédex, but forgot to mute it.

The pokédex said loudly, "Boltund. The Dog Pokémon. It sends electricity through its legs to boost their strength. Running at top speed, it easily breaks 50 mph." On the screen, it displayed Boltund's approximate height and weight, and that his trainer was presumably the man in blue named “Gorm”.

Gorm was accompanied by a very beautiful and finely-dressed young man. The young man was standing near a sofa, where a Stoutland was lying on a soft pokémon bed. He adjusted the bow on Stoutland’s head. Hilda had failed to notice him at first, and felt worse for making a fool of herself in front of him.

Ignoring the faux pas, Mr. Juniper asked Sage Gorm. "Excuse me sir, where is Lord Ghetsis?"

"He's meeting with an inspector," replied Gorm. "For this reason, King Natural is here on his behalf."

Oshawott shot a quick glance at Budew. Budew was confused because she assumed "king" meant "royal patriarch", and "prince" meant "the king's son". Regardless, Budew was excited to see N. He appeared much more pleasant in person than on TV.

N was busy talking to Stoutland, who was worried about the professor handling her newborns, that he ignored Hilda's pokédex. Suddenly, Oshawott caught his eye. She seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd seen her before. 

Budew took a deep breath and chirped to N, "Your highness!"

N turned to look at Budew, which immediately made Hilda squat on the ground. She had already embarrassed herself in front of the king, and Budew getting his attention made it even worse. Oshawott walked back to Hilda and asked her, "What happened? Do you need to go take a dump?"

N and the other pokémon heard Oshawott. Stoutland couldn't believe her ears. (Had she been a weaker proud bitch, she would've fainted.) She barked, "Sweetie, the lights in this room are too bright and they're probably hurting your friend's eyes. Humans are all housebroken and don't just do their business wherever they stand. This is common knowledge."

"Oh…," said Oshawott. "But sometimes you can't hold it in."

"It's true," nodded Budew, who fell flat on her face because she lost her balance.

Stoutland whispered to N, "Please ask their human friend what's wrong."

"Yes Ma'am," said N as he walked over to Hilda and asked, "Are you okay?"

Hilda turned to look at him. N recognized her as the girl he had seen in Accumula Town last year, the one he immediately crushed on. She was accompanied by a bookish blonde girl and a rude arrogant black-haired boy, who immediately challenged N to a battle. It was clear to N that this boy was itching for a battle since he had arrived from Nuvema Town after visiting the professor, as did the girls. N wasn’t sure what had come over him, but he accepted the challenge and tried his best to beat the boy’s Snivy with a random Purrloin he had recruited. It was only now that he realized why; he wanted to impress this girl, but wasn’t sure he succeeded. The boy’s contempt for others – his pokémon and his opponent, offended N so much that he walked off without saying a word after he defeated the boy.

"The lights are too bright," replied Hilda, who covered her face with her arms and tried to get up. She recognized N immediately and he was apparently hotter than she remembered him.

Not sure what to do, N backed away. Hilda looked over at Mr. Juniper who was busy getting information from Gorm. Neither men knew or cared about what the kids were up to, which was partially a relief.

Just then, two Repeat Balls N had on his belt wiggled, and a Milcery and an Applin let themselves out. They had overheard Oshawott and couldn't contain their curiosity. Mr. Juniper spotted them. He was familiar with that particular Milcery because she occasionally had babies who needed registration. However, he had never seen the Applin before.

Milcery whispered to Applin, "That human girl is looking at N, the same way you look at Hydreigon."

Applin’s eyes widened and she hissed, "Shh!"

Fortunately, no one heard Milcery. N picked up both pokémon and sat them next to Stoutland. The baby Lillipup sniffed Milcery and licked her. Despite her milk being sweeter, she preferred her mother's milk instead, and resumed nursing.

Gorm said to Mr. Juniper loudly, "If your assistant wants to properly log Milcery and Applin into her pokédex, she is free to do so. It's not everyday you see either of them in these parts."

Applin rolled her eyes. Usually, this involved trading back and forth, which she felt was an unnecessary hassle. For this reason, Team Plasma grunts tend to have rare pokémon, such as Reshiram, logged in their pokédex. Applin and Milcery currently belonged to N. 

N took a deep breath, grabbed both of the Repeat Balls, and recalled his pokémon. Hilda realized that she needed to trade both her pokémon with N, in order to log them, and hesitated. Both Oshawott and Budew were special to her because they were gifts, and she couldn’t bear to part with them – she felt undeserving of Oshawott because she didn’t go out to train, and her mom had specially bred Budew just for her.

Sensing her hesitation, N said, “I’ll give them right back. I treasure Millie and Zana too much to part with them so easily. They’re as sweet as they are incredibly rare.”

Taking a gamble, she handed both pokéballs to N, as he handed her his Repeat Balls. Hilda’s pokédex, which was now muted, blinked because it registered Milcery and Applin. She immediately handed N back the Repeat Balls, and N returned her pokéballs, as he promised. Hilda summoned Oshawott and Budew, who appeared unbothered by the trade – in fact, they had no idea they had temporarily gotten a new trainer. (They were just confused as to why Hilda quickly recalled them and summoned them.)

Mr. Juniper looked at Hilda, and seemed to tell her to convince N not to turn the castle into a Poké Stop. Hilda’s eyes widened because she had no idea how to speak to the king. She felt that every word that could possibly come out of her mouth was beneath him.

Budew, who remembered the Poké Stop conversation because she wasn’t _that_ Naive, said to N, “Please don’t make the castle into a Poké Stop. Team Plasma will stake it out and steal trainers’ pokémon. It’s too dangerous!”

Oshawott gasped and dropped her Scalchop.

N replied in a hushed whisper, “I certainly don’t want trainers using items that Poké Stops dispense, to catch innocent pokémon who live near the castle that are just minding their own business. I will make a mental note and speak to the UR inspector about this matter.”

“Thank you so much, I knew you would understand!” cheered Budew.

Hilda was relieved and mumbled to N, “Aww…she likes you.”

Boltund narrowed his eyes as he observed N and Hilda. Wanting to have a word with N, Boltund barked. N hurried over to Boltund to listen to him. 

"You better not be using your Cute Charm on that girl," growled Boltund. "You don't know what kind of girl she is."

"I'm not," stammered N, whose face immediately went flushed. (Fortunately, the makeup he wore for the photoshoot covered this up.) Admittedly, he did have strong feelings for Hilda, but he was convinced that no one noticed and he had hoped to keep this to himself. "She…she doesn't even have heart-shaped eyes. She's not Infatuated." 

"She doesn't," said Boltund. "But don't try it. You're a king, and are responsible for Unova's well-being. Throughout history, countless powerful men, like you, have jeopardized their careers and reputations because they decided to chase after women that they should've left alone and ignored. Ask yourself, would your father approve of this girl?"

N remained silent. As much as N loved and respected his father, Ghetsis' opinion regarding lovers was worthless to him because he kept being drawn to shady men. Only his mother was an exception, because she was chosen for his father by his grandmother, who looked everywhere for a nice, Quiet girl for her only son. 

Realizing that Boltund was expecting an answer, N replied, "No."

Boltund crooked his head, since he was expecting a different answer. (He thought N was going to defend his choice, because he was clearly interested in this girl.) Regardless, Boltund was pleased that N was not an ordinary man who'd put his pleasure before the needs of others, such as the Unovan citizens. N had his priorities straight and that was exactly the kind of ruler Unova needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Kantonian, Johtoan, Hoennite, and Sinnohan are the same language. Think of them as British English, Canadian English, Australian English, and American English. (Their language is actually Japanese though, referred to as “Common Tongue.”) 
>   * Lysandre Labs products are now Apple. I think calling them like this is more amusing. XD 
>   * N looks like a Baroque king here instead of how he looks in game art. Hilda also doesn’t resemble her game art appearance. They didn’t recognize each other until they made eye-contact. Both were too nervous and flustered to even think about the other’s opinion of them. 
>   * N’s default Ability is “Cute Charm”. But as a human, he can change it at will to another Ability he has learned.
> 



	7. Love at Second Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N thinks about the fact his romantic feelings are genetic, rather than spontaneous. He doesn't know what to do with this information.

Meanwhile, Gorm saw N talking to his Boltund and sighed. The sages had told N numerous times to cautiously accept advice from pokémon because it was often inapplicable to humans. (It was the pokémon who convinced N to use Mean Look during his speech – that way the audience would listen to it, because they'd be unable to get away or change the channel.)

Mr. Juniper worked hurriedly to prepare the documentation. Since he was working on the field, he had to enter the information manually. 

"Have you gone back to visit Galar after getting your Unovan citizenship?" asked Mr. Juniper, in an attempt at small talk because Gorm's silence was making him nervous.

"Yes," replied Gorm. "It was shortly before the embargo. Lord Ghetsis was invited to visit Galar with his children, and requested that the invitation be extended to me. I understood completely, the children were a handful, when they were little. _Especially_ King Natural."

Gorm proceeded to explain that their trip was intended to be a diplomatic one, of sorts. However, both he and Ghetsis figured out that Rose invited them because he wanted a few of his companies to have a presence in Unova. Rose thought schmoozing royalty would do the trick. Rose was unfortunately, two generations too late. 

The family initially tried to stay in Whydon, Galar's modern capital, but its futuristic atmosphere frightened the children. They were taken to Hammerlocke and were able to relax in its familiar palatial cityspace. From Hammerlocke, they visited Gorm's hometown of Stow-On-Side, and camped in the Wild Area. 

"Did you know Stow-On-Side was an Ancient Unovan settlement?" asked Gorm. "Not surprising, since Unova and Galar had always traded with each other since the beginning of time. From Unova, Galar lies to the east. From Galar, Unova lies to the west. It was all fair and good until the Kantonian Empire decided to attack and ruin everything."

"I don't want to hear about Kanto or 'Gen 1' right now," sighed Mr. Juniper. "I still feel it was wrong of Professor Oak to list Kanto as the first region in the National Dex, with its Bulbasaur at #001. It should've been Sinnoh and with Arceus as the first pokémon. But then, he's a Kantonian, so of course he wants his region as the first one."

"Tell me about it," said Gorm. "Most Kantonians I met, except Sage Ryoku, have this _entitled_ attitude – that the whole world should cater to _them_ , and they think the only pokémon that matter are the ones from Kanto. I'm pretty sure this is why Sage Ryoku chose to stay here. Unovans are more humble and don't act like this."

"Internationally, Unova is considered the most boorish region because we’re the 'entitled' ones," chuckled Mr. Juniper. "Kanto couldn't conquer Unova the same way they conquered Galar, so they’ve chosen to slander us. I'd go on, but you know…" Mr. Juniper paused, before adding, “…I’m still a very respected Pokémon Professor, and I must keep my strong opinions to myself.” 

“It’s good to speak your mind,” replied Gorm, who wasn’t expecting to hear Mr. Juniper vent to him about his Gen 1 annoyance. “If you keep quiet, everyone is going to think that you agree with everything that is happening.” Gorm shrugged, as if to tell Mr. Juniper that this was exactly why Team Plasma was founded. 

Annoyed, Mr. Juniper sighed, “Oh yeah…The late Professor Julien Sycamore, from Kalos, used to say that all the time. Well, at least after getting into a heated argument with someone, but I’m not hot-headed like he was…I mean, ‘passionate’ as he called himself.” Not wanting to further distract himself, by reminiscing about Professor Sycamore, whom he missed dearly or making Gorm think that he sympathized with Team Plasma, Mr. Juniper said to Hilda, “Hilda, please weigh the Yamper.”

N’s eyes widened at hearing Hilda’s name because he immediately remembered the dire warning his father had given him months ago, “My son, listen to me. I want you to promise me that you’ll never get involved with a short, brown-haired man…well, boy, in your case. Short brown-haired men are nothing but trouble and will destroy our family. Don’t allow such a person to seduce you. Especially if his name is ‘Hilbert’. It will end badly.”

However, Ghetsis only warned him about men and boys, he didn’t say anything about women and girls. Looking at Hilda, she didn’t seem like the mean-spirited, home-wrecking type who wanted to hurt anyone. Her two pokémon were proof of that. After _one_ year of competitive training, starter pokémon lose their curious innocence and all they desire is to annihilate opponents on the battlefield. Something that N had been all too familiar with and wished it would never happen to anyone – both human and pokémon.

But a week or so before Ghetsis gave N this warning, a strange short brown-haired man who wore a black tracksuit that also resembled a suit with a Rainbow-colored R came out of a portal. N’s gut reaction about this man was that he was a dangerous criminal. N was _shocked_ that his normally cautious father seemed to ignore all these warning signs and eagerly approached this suspicious man. Unlike most other unfamiliar men, Ghetsis spoke rather sweetly and sincerely to this man. N made one attempt to interrupt their conversation only for his father to reprimand him with a harsh scolding glare, practically telling him that if he dared to embarrass him in front of this man, he’d disown him. When he heard his father’s warning later, N immediately remembered this interaction. 

He assumed his father was projecting onto him, like he always did. There was no other explanation as to why this brown-haired man seemed to practically sweep his father off his feet and stationed him in the master bedroom of his hijacked compound. His father was seduced by this evil man, who did or said something terrible to him. Whatever happened, his father wasn’t as affectionate and trusting of his family and friends anymore. Ghetsis wasn’t wrong. A short brown-haired man had caused a fracture in the House of Harmonia because he separated them. 

N pondered this quietly as he helped Hilda handle the newborn Yamper. Since the newborn’s birth was at home, and not from an incubator or the Day-Care, the Yamper didn’t have her own pokéball yet. Her measurements had to be taken manually. Frightened, the Yamper whimpered, she had no idea how to even deliver a shock for self-defense. Since N was there, Stoutland was calm during this procedure. She had complete trust in N that her baby would be safe because he was there. Hilda felt guilty for upsetting the baby. The baby Lilipup cried too, even though no one was touching it.

As soon as Hilda finished writing down Yamper’s measurements, Mr. Juniper approached with a small syringe. N spotted the syringe and immediately began to talk with Stoutland. He worried Stoutland would attack the professor because she was terrified of needles and her maternal instincts were the strongest at this time. Hilda watched as Mr. Juniper injected the little baby and drew out some blood for the DNA testing. The little baby cried upon getting stung, but Mr. Juniper was quick and Hilda immediately put a bandage on her, immediately handing her to N, so he could return her to her mom.

Mr. Juniper placed the blood samples in a device he pulled out of his briefcase, so it could analyze the similarities. While DNA testing was usually done with a Cottonee Swab, a blood-drawn test was less likely to be contaminated, especially since some pokémon always have something in their mouths.

Concerned, Hilda asked Mr. Juniper, “How come the results for human DNA testing come back in about a week, yet practically instant for pokémon?”

“If people had their DNA tests immediately, they’d riot,” replied Gorm, who observed his Boltund approached Stoutland. Boltund sniffed Stoutland and gave her an affectionate lick on the face. He whispered something to her, which made her giggle.

“Yeah…,” sighed Mr. Juniper, who turned to N. “Your majesty, I’m going to calculate the payment total while we wait for the results. Of course, I must ask you if you'd like to arrange a payment plan or pay at once.”

“Pay at once,” replied N. “Father likes to get business over with as soon as possible.” N pulled out his father’s debit card from his wallet.

“Hilda, the card reader,” said Mr. Juniper, as Hilda went and handed it over to him. N swiped the card and then had to enter the PIN, which was 1990, the year he was born. The card reader printed out two receipts, the one for invoice and the customer copy. N signed the invoice receipt and kept the customer copy.

Suddenly, Mr. Juniper’s machine rang and printed out three copies of the results. Mr. Juniper notarized each one and handed one certificate to Hilda, so she could present it to N. The certificate stated that the baby Yamper was born in Unova, sired by a Boltund who had already lived in Unova before the embargo was placed. One of the copies was to be mailed to Galar for their records, and the other copy was for the professor’s records.

“If you have a pokéball, you can catch the baby and I can import the certificate’s information into the pokéball,” said Mr. Juniper. 

“I don’t know…,” said N, whose apprehension immediately gave Mr. Juniper flashbacks, because N said it in the exact worried and whiny tone Ghetsis used.

“Just do it, N,” said Stoutland. “It’s best for her to have a ‘trainer’ just in case. You have my full permission to be her trainer. Ask the girls or Sage Gorm if they have a pokéball on hand. Any will do for now, we could always switch out balls later.”

“…Alright, does anyone have a pokéball on them?” asked N, as he pulled out his wallet again, "I'll buy it from you."

Hilda was the first to pull out a regular pokéball from her pink messenger bag. She had no idea what came over her, but she didn’t hesitate. N grabbed the pokéball from her hand and paid her the $2 it cost for it. He hurried to Stoutland, who picked up her daughter and gently touched her side to the pokéball. The pokéball trapped the baby and shook only once before indicating that she was successfully caught.

Hilda’s pokédex beeped, because she only silenced the text-to-speech, and registered Yamper as hers. N and the grunt girls gasped, while Mr. Juniper bit his lip. Pokéballs are usually registered as belonging to the trainers who purchased them at Poké Marts. There is a way to register them if purchased between trainers, the unused/empty pokéballs can be reformatted with the pokédex or from a PC. N acted so quickly, that Mr. Juniper didn’t even have time to tell him to reformat the pokéball first. The pokémon in the room realized that something had gone wrong.

“…Please gift the ball to him, Hilda,” stammered Mr. Juniper.

“…How?!” gasped Hilda. 

Mr. Juniper got her pokédex and entered in that she was going to give the pokéball to N as a gift. N pulled out his pokédex and handed it to the professor, so he could complete the gifting process. N was a difficult boy to read, just like his father. Assuming that N was exactly like Ghetsis, Mr. Juniper worked quickly to correct the mistake, because Ghetsis was rumored to be a very dangerous man, when upset. 

Mr. Juniper finished the gifting process and bid farewell to everyone in the room, as he, Hilda, Budew, and Oshawott were escorted out of the guest room. Embarrassed and paralyzed by his impulsiveness, N couldn’t even say goodbye to them. He later regretted staying quiet because he thought that Hilda would think he got mad at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Stow-On-Side has a very “American Southwestern” look to me. This is why it’s an Ancient Unovan settlement in my AU. The fact that wild Yamasks are found nearby in-game is proof of this for me.
>   * Cedric Juniper is a devout Plasman and he’s also the one who insisted that Victini be #000 in the Unovan Dex. Not only because it’s literally next to Arceus but also to bless trainers filling out their Unova Dex. 
>   * Julien Sycamore is supposed to be [Augustine Sycamore](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Professor_Sycamore)’s uncle. (A Julius Caesar and Augustus reference, except that Uncle Julien wasn’t stabbed by treacherous colleagues. A sudden stroke took him.)
>   * When I first watched the Rainbow Rocket gameplay, I immediately shipped Ghetsis and Giovanni. I assumed that, that’s what it was supposed to be; Giovanni and his tall, cute, and sexy gold-digging boyfriend. I also noticed that Giovanni looks like he used to be the main protagonist boy as a kid. This means that Ghetsis and N have the same tastes in s/o’s. If Rainbow Rocket’s takeover lasted longer, Ghetsis was going to mess everything up for Giovanni because he became too infatuated with him in his attempts to usurp him.
> 



	8. Last-Minute Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're literally getting ready to take the photos for the photoshoot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art stuff is discussed in this chapter because that's one of the main themes. Doesn't add much to the plot, but I like to think about this.

In the ballroom, which was located in the third story of the castle, everyone else was getting ready for the photoshoot. Anthea and Concordia were tasked by N to groom Reshiram’s long mane, so he would look cute in the photos. Reshiram allowed the sisters to groom him, though he couldn’t help but feel uneasy around Anthea. After all, she had inherited Ghetsis’ mischievous eyebrows which made her look like a troublemaker to him. But Reshiram also heard Victini speak highly of Anthea, often referring to her as “the righteous one”. (Concordia was “the pantologist”, a mistress of many trades.)

Meanwhile, Ghetsis couldn’t help but be curious about Looker, the UR inspector, from the moment he saw him. Looker seemed familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Unfortunately, Ghetsis had no time to think about Looker because the photoshoot was the highest priority. Remembering Sage Ryoku’s advice, Ghetsis tried to maintain a Calm Mind – by taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly since he never learned the actual move, Calm Mind.

A haunting thought occurred – would losing have prevented this terrible culmination of stress? Even before having his eye-opening revelation, Ghetsis felt like he was nearing his wit’s end regarding his own uncertain fate. His whole life was a suspenseful bloodless nightmare, with his only dream of taking control of his life and living in undisturbed peace. Before he was able to hide his concerns and carry on, as was expected of a nobleman – but now, it seemed that everyone saw him for what he truly was.

Lost in thought, Ghetsis didn’t realize that Looker was approaching him. However, his Seismitoad, Hermès, sensed Looker getting closer and came out of his ball much to Hydreigon’s surprise.

Concerned, Hydreigon asked, “What are you doing?”

Hermès shot a quick glance at Natural the Hydreigon and said, “That inspector has a Croagunk. It’s believed that Croagunks and Seismitoads are very similar, so I want to know if I can ‘figure out’ my brethren.”

“Understood, carry on,” replied Natural, who approached his trainer and gently put Ghetsis’ left forearm into his left lesser mouth.

Ghetsis felt the touch and reached over to Natural. Grabbing the lesser left head, he whispered to it, “Please be careful! My outfit is made by Bug-types and I don’t want you to get a rash in your mouth.”

Looker spotted Ghetsis holding his Hydreigon’s head while whispering some inaudible baby-talk. Right away, this sight was highly unusual – as far as Looker was concerned, Hydreigons are viciously violent and unpredictable pokémon. Yet Natural’s body language was, well, natural. This Hydreigon was clearly very relaxed and happy to be with his trainer, not drugged in any way in order to keep it subdued during the photoshoot.

Hermès approached Looker and Croagunk and croaked, “How may I help you?”

Since Looker and Croagunk both recognized Hermès as Ghetsis’ Seismitoad, Croagunk said, “My trainer would like to ask a couple of questions regarding the castle, I hope that’s alright.”

“Not sure, my friend is very nervous about the photoshoot,” said Hermès. “He’s trying very hard to remain calm before it begins. He’s the King Regent of Unova. He knows people don’t like him or his son, and won’t hesitate to use photos of him when he’s exhausted to depict him as a madman.”

“I understand,” said Croagunk. “The paparazzi in Kalos are notorious for that. Well then, I’ll inform my trainer to wait until your first break before asking. Hopefully, your trainer feels better about it.”

“Thank you,” said Hermès.

Croagunk puffed his cheeks at Looker, politely asking his trainer to wait. 

But Looker was so eager to begin his inspection report that he decided to ask Ghetsis, anyway. He felt that asking the homeowner would speed up the process. Thankfully, the scrambled Lucky Egg that Ghetsis had for breakfast filled him with enough "happiness", that he didn't mind the unexpected questioning. (In fact, it was the first time he wasn't stressed out over random questioning. Before, he was usually able to hide his distress with his calm, neutral expression.)

Unfortunately, Looker smelled the light sparkling scent of the Lucky Egg on Ghetsis. Humans don't usually eat Lucky Eggs unless they're very sick or severely stressed. However, Looker was aware of the rumors of Ghetsis' health decline and observed his frailty himself. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if eating the Lucky Egg was _only_ for health reasons. There had been growing tensions between the UR and Ghetsis for years. Although Ghetsis never misbehaved in front of the past UR inspectors, they could sense the menacing tension of Ghetsis wanting them to leave his property immediately or _else_. For this reason, the UR requested that Looker investigate the castle. 

Looker also felt some tension, but it wasn't something he'd consider remotely threatening. Perhaps it was due to Ghetsis' frailty, but it came off like Ghetsis felt unsafe around him and the other visitors, almost as if he feared for his life. Looker was all too familiar with these types of people. Usually, they're the ones in the witness protection program.

Perhaps Ghetsis realized the vibe he was giving off that he suddenly asked Looker, “May I ask you a couple of questions?”

“Go ahead,” said Looker, surprised and intrigued.

“Is ‘Looker’ your real name?” asked Ghetsis. “My apologies, but that name is very popular in Unova for Patrats and Watchogs. I’ve never heard of a person having this name until now.”

“Yes,” replied Looker. “Apparently, my parents visited Unova before I was born and told me they heard it here and thought it was a nice name for a ‘good-looking’ baby boy.”

“I see,” said Ghetsis. “Here, ‘Looker’ means ‘observant’, and that’s why it’s given to Patrats and Watchogs. Although it does seem like a fitting name for a child who grows up to be an inspector or an investigator.”

Nearby Zinzolin and Ryoku were discussing his upcoming expedition to Relic Castle in Desert Resort. Zinzolin couldn’t help but overhear Ghetsis’ conversation with Looker and said to Ryoku, “Lord Ghetsis has raised my standards of what a ‘good-looking’ man should be. I blame that Buneary cereal. He’s eaten so much of it, that he’s developed long shapely legs like a Lopunny.”

“Okay, I’ve held my tongue long enough,” said Ryoku. “Your comments about Lord Ghetsis’ appearance are borderline…inappropriate.”

“How so?” asked Zinzolin as he crossed his arms.

“As much as I _completely_ agree with you,” said Ryoku. “I’m worried that our friend might not take those compliments well, especially if he overhears them around these inspectors. He’s been very…tense lately and has _misunderstood_ a few too many things.”

“You’re right!” gasped Zinzolin as he covered his mouth. “I appreciate that you’ve brought this to my attention. I'll try to keep these observations in our private chat. Thank you. Still, it's not hard to notice. He's not wearing those long robes that cover up his whole body.”

Fortunately, Ghetsis didn’t hear Ryoku’s and Zinzolin’s conversation, because he was too busy answering the rest of Looker’s questions about the castle. 

As the men spoke, Madame Clairdonna summoned her Golurk and Kangaskan to assist her with setting up the lights. She had summoned her Bronzor too, so it could help her get the cameras ready, since she planned to use both a film camera and a digital camera. 

She turned to Bronzor and said, “Little Susan wanted to come visit the castle today but she woke up with a fever.” Pulling out a small pink digital camera, Madame Clairdonna added, “Please take some nice photos for Susan to enjoy. There is a lot of beautiful artwork in the castle, both paintings and statues. If you see adorable pokémon wandering about, take photos of them too.” She handed Bronzor the camera, which it levitated with its psychic abilities and began to take some photos of the ceiling mural in the ballroom.

“Please be mindful that some of the artwork is inappropriate for young ladies,” said Madame Clairdonna.

One of the grunts overheard her and whispered to his companion, “Wait, Team Plasma Castle has naked people art?!”

“Yeah,” whispered the other grunt. “But most people get distracted by the cute pokémon in the artwork, so they never notice it. There is a _very nice_ statue on the 4th floor that looks like King N but it’s one of his ancestors. There’s other similar ones around too. I haven’t had time to look for them all because this castle is huge!”

Anthea and Concordia walked over to Ghetsis and helped him sit down on an ornate chair, after he finished his interview with Looker. As soon as he sat down, he said to them, “I would like some water.”

Both girls hurried to the snack table, which had some water bottles. Concordia grabbed a bottle and Anthea grabbed some cubed jelly with sliced Oran Berries inside it. They presented their father, the water bottle and jelly. Ghetsis was surprised that the jelly was brought to him. But it was very obvious he was craving it because he kept staring at it from afar.

N entered the ballroom and approached Ghetsis, saying to him, “Sage Gorm took the certificate Professor Juniper printed out to the study. Here is your card.” N pulled out Ghetsis’ debit card.

“Thank you, my son,” said Ghetsis, “Please give Sage Zinzolin my card, so he can put it away.” He waited for N to hand over the card and return to him, before gesturing with his left index finger for N to come closer because he wanted to tell him something in private. 

N approached his father, only to hear his father purr nervously in his ear. Of course, N clearly understood what his father had told him. Ghetsis warned N that Looker was an undercover officer. Even before remembering that he had seen Looker's face in Giovanni's files, Ghetsis found his behavior too suspicious. Growing up, Ghetsis had observed countless UR inspectors assess the castle's architectural integrity. Looker was doing everything wrong, but he filled out the forms correctly. Remembering Looker's face only proved his initial assumption. Unfortunately, Looker had to stay with them for a couple of days to complete his report, since the castle was huge. Burgh also needed to stay for a few days in order to complete the portrait. What surprised N the most was that his father made a fluent pokémon-like vocalization. (Although N couldn't figure out which species made that sound.)

Sage Rood approached them, holding a silk pillow with the Royal Unovan Globus Cruciger on it for N to hold in the portrait. 

"Wait a minute," said N, "This is just a fancy pokéball with the Plasma 'PS' on top. I know _exactly_ who would look good in this ball."

"My son, this pokéball is inert," replied Ghetsis. "Open it and you'll realize it's incapable of catching pokémon. But I don't see any problem with making a similar-looking one from our Apricorns for, I'm guessing, Reshiram."

N nodded, but he was only joking. Reshiram was in a Master Ball and that was way too pricey to simply replace because Reshiram’s ball was still relatively new.

"Excuse me," said N as he took the globus cruciger from Rood and opened it. There were no crystal mirrors inside. Instead, it had a delicate black velvet lining. In the center, was a silvery heart-shaped locket. N opened the locket and saw a portrait of a male green-haired ancestor on one side and a curly brown-haired woman on the other. He quickly closed the locket and the globus cruciger.

"I don't think a pokéball like this would be practical," said Rood. "The PS will break off once the ball hits the floor."

"To be fair, most of these royal artifacts aren't practical, except for this scepter," replied Ghetsis. He turned to Rood, "Please remind me to commission Colress to create a replica of this scepter. It's a good size, but I don't want to misuse this artifact as a…cane. A replica, on the other hand, is free to use as I please, as long as it's not exact."

"Where is Colress?" asked Rood. "I thought he'd be in the photo with us."

"He's shy about it," replied N. "A couple of days ago, he told me he wasn't comfortable being in such a group pic, even if it was only meant to be displayed here in Team Plasma Castle. Since he's not a Harmonia or a sage, I excused his absence."

Ghetsis couldn't help but be a little jealous of Colress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * It’s disappointing that canon Pokémon media refuse to make Anthea’s eyebrows thicker. They always look like half-hearted attempts. (TBH I think all of Ghetsis’ children should’ve had his eyebrows and reddish eyes.)
>   * I had to make Seismitoad and Croagunk interact with each other because Sword that Seismitoad and Croagunk are related. 
>   * Regarding my Sword gameplay, Hydreigons are one of the most laid back Dragon-type species in the game. The wild ones don’t charge at you unless you get too close. If you hurry away fast-enough they lose interest and go back to floating around. These are the stoners of Dragon-type pokémon. It’s extremely appropriate for one to be the signature pokémon of a hippie (Ghetsis). 
>   * I know that “Looker” is supposed to be a code-name, but treating it as his actual name is funnier, IMHO. Also, Looker’s name is meant to parody White Western tourists who give their kids exotic, “unique” names from other cultures without thinking about what they mean. 
>   * Ghetsis looks like a Lopunny. Fact. He’s got fluffy curls and big eyebrows like one. I don’t think he’s got its pear-shaped body though. He also looks like a Milotic, which is supposedly the most beautiful pokémon, according to canon. (But his pink-haired daughter, Anthea looks most like one). Therefore, Ghetsis is the most beautiful villain boss in the franchise and his son, N, has inherited his good looks. However, this probably too OP of him, so they’re not blood-related in canon, since we’re not allowed to have hot, androgynous monster boys.
>   * A Globus Cruciger is that royal orb that has a cross on it. Of course there should be one here, except that it is a [non-functional] pokéball.
> 



	9. Artistic Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They take their photos and after that, N starts having his portrait painted.

Once everyone got settled, it was time to begin. The first photo was going to be of the family posed with Abomasnows, since seasonal pokémon were often a staple in such photos. N's Abomasnow sat in between N and his sisters. The other Abomasnows stood in the back. All of them wore light-weight opalescent and silver-colored plastic ornaments.

Madame Clairdonna smiled sweetly, though she couldn’t help but be peeved at the Harmonias. Most of the Abomasnows present, with the exception of N’s Abomasnow, were actually Dittos in disguise. The fake Abomasnows lacked that fresh pine fragrance that both Snover and Abomasnow have. Momentarily forgetting that the Harmonias were prominent Team Plasma members, she expected the royal family to have at least a dozen real Frost Tree Pokémon. The truth was that the royal family never bothered to replace their Frost Tree Pokémon over the years. Ghetsis’ surviving relatives, at the time, weren’t trainers because they felt it was unladylike to go out in the wilderness to catch ‘em all.

Ghetsis and N had been the only Harmonias in recent times who were serious trainers. (Despite not battling competitively.) Anthea and Concordia never showed any interest in it due to their debilitating homesickness. Even if the two sisters went together, they’d still get homesick. (Yes, they had tried it before and it didn’t work out.)

“The Dittos are even more excited about this photoshoot than us,” said N, since he sensed hostility towards them. “They love to Transform but often want to do it outside of battle. The problem is that there’s not many opportunities that they’re Transforming from prompts. This is why they love Plasmas. Many choose to turn into an Abomasnow, because they’re a big, cuddly pokémon.”

One of the Dittos, a Level 100 shiny Ditto, spoke to N, “Yeah, I love dress up! But I also love that trainers are interested in us Transforming instead of breeding us during this holiday. I had always looked forward to Plasmas as an escape. I will continue to look forward to it because it reminds me of the bright future that I never dreamed was possible.” The Ditto blushed and its face momentarily reverted to its normal state. “Thank you so much Team Plasma, you too N.”

The other Dittos comforted their friend as N turned around and petted the Ditto, whose face turned back into an Abomasnow’s face after it felt comforted.

Even though they didn’t understand pokémon, the people in the ballroom understood that Ditto had given a heartfelt impromptu speech. But since they were on a tight schedule, they didn’t have time to ask N to translate.

After everyone was settled again, Madame Clairdonna spoke as she walked over to her camera, “Alright everyone, it’s finally time to begin.”

While Madame Clairdonna was taking photos, Burgh entered the ballroom after getting set up in the throne room on the fifth floor. Sage Bronius approached Burgh and whispered to him, “Shouldn’t you be drawing accurate maps for the Unovan Pokémon League’s International website?”

“What?” asked Burgh.

“Surely you’ve heard about the Charmandering – the questionable redistricting in Unova,” replied Bronius. “This is one of the many things that the Champion, Alder, is passionate about because he's from one of the omitted towns. Well, I assumed that you gym leaders, Elite Four, and the Champion all spoke to each other.”

Bronius’ assumption was correct in that they all spoke to each other regularly. However, they seldom talked about politics due to how polarizing the topic was. The ones who did talk about politics the most were Alder and Drayden, but to each other. Since both were very opinionated but open-minded men, their conversations and debates were all pleasant. Still, the way Bronius just suddenly brought up such a complex topic without anybody asking took Burgh by surprise. (Though this was typical of Sinnohans – coming out of nowhere and infodumping on an unsuspecting random person.)

“As I was saying, on the international website, there’s a basic map of Unova that has the gyms listed, but it’s missing several cities and towns,” said Bronius. “Off the top of my head, Humilau City, Virbank City, Aspertia City, Ventress City, Lentimas Town, Floccesy Town, Nimbasa Town, and several others I can’t recall at the moment. All of these are not on the map. The thing they do have in common was that they opposed the ‘illegitimate’ government. Ask Alder about it, if you don’t believe me.”

Since Madame Clairdonna was taking several photos, Burgh had time to message Alder about the claim. Bronius saw that it was his turn to pose in the photo, since Ghetsis had requested at least one personal photo that included the Sages and the Shadow Triad, because he considered them his family too. 

N was most excited about this photo as was the rest of the family.

“I should’ve switched to my ceremonial robes,” whispered Ghetsis.

“You’re good,” said Giallo, “We should’ve dressed up in a similar historical costume.”

“Hell no,” scoffed Rood. “I don’t want to wear that stupid corset. Even thinking about it hurts my kidneys.”

“You guys wear corsets?!” asked Burgh, who had assumed the sages were still slim, fit older men because they personally battled their pokémon and had to obviously be in great shape.

“Of course, it's part of this historical costume and must be worn,” lied Ghetsis who wasn’t even wearing one and actively discouraged his children from wearing them. “Not everyone is gifted with a nice, naturally slim figure.”

Madame Clairdonna turned to Burgh and said, “I can show you photos of the parts of the costume if you’re interested. The men wear more layers than the women.”

"Really?" asked Burgh.

"Yes, the male outfits are more complex," said Madame Clairdonna, who whispered, "What makes the Harmonias unique, compared to other royal families abroad, is that male beauty is always displayed front and center. Think of them as Unfezants. The female is lovely, but the male is more ornate and eye-catching."

Burgh blinked. He wasn't expecting this answer even if it was the most precise.

Madame Clairdonna began to ramble on about how she loved photography from a young age. She also confessed to Burgh that she wished her children and grandchildren would have been just as passionate about it as she was. Though, it seemed like she was winning over one of her granddaughters.

As an artist, Burgh sympathized with her completely. It's difficult being the only artistically inclined person in your family – support and encouragement for it is virtually nonexistent unless you manage to turn a profit. 

Madame Clairdonna's Bronzor returned and she inspected the photos. All of them were as nice as she expected them to be. She recalled her Bronzor and put away her granddaughter's camera.

Once they were finished, it was Burgh’s turn to paint a full-body portrait of N. N, and his pokémon followed Burgh into the throne room, where N sat on the throne. Reshiram curled up around the throne beneath N’s feet. Since ancient times, all over the world, nobility was painted with Legendary and Mythical pokémon by their side – except here, Reshiram actually belonged to N and wasn’t the result of artistic liberty. Burgh was at a reasonable distance away from them, though he occasionally had to get up and take a closer look, so he could get the sketch right.

N felt awful about wearing such an ornate outfit, since Burgh had to draw all the details. (Even though Burgh was still his enemy, N couldn’t help but pity him.) Ghetsis encouraged N to wear it. He said that the king needed to be the most beautiful one in the photos. It was expected of N to be the most finely dressed one for the photos. But N felt guilty for upstaging his father. (Despite Sage Zinzolin insisting that the Unovan public wouldn’t be able to handle seeing two very beautiful royal men in the same picture.) 

As for Ghetsis, he didn’t mind dressing down. In fact, he wondered if Madame Clairdonna noticed he was wearing his brown medieval clogs instead of his princely ivory high-heels. Just thinking about wearing those high-heels made his feet hurt and he decided against wearing them at the last minute. He was also convinced that his children, his friends, and the rest of Team Plasma didn’t notice either. But they _did_ notice, and said nothing because they wanted Ghetsis to feel comfortable.

Burgh had placed multiple large towels and newspapers on the ground, just in case the paint dripped. He was sitting on his favorite foldable chair. Two of Burgh’s pokéballs shook and the pokémon let themselves out. First was Leavanny, Burgh’s most loyal pokémon. The second was Burgh’s Vespiquen. 

Leavanny got close to Burgh and inspected his friend’s sketching, then looked at N. He chuckled and said, “Buddy, you’ve got your work cut out for ya. I have some Energy Root on me, if you need it. Your hand is going to be sore tomorrow.”

Burgh reached over with his non-dominant hand and petted Leavanny. 

Vespiquen was making her way towards N, when N suddenly spoke, “Excuse me. Leavanny said he has some Energy Root if your hand starts cramping.”

Leavanny pulled out the Energy Root and showed it to Burgh. Burgh was surprised and said, “Thank you…thank you both.” He resumed his work as Leavanny put the Energy Root away.

“Your majesty,” said Vespiquen.

“Yes, my fellow monarch?” asked N.

"I would like to negotiate an item trade with you," said Vespiquen. "I would like several pounds of berries in exchange for honey." She pulled out a scrap piece of drawing paper with the list written on the back. Although several words were misspelled, N understood her request.

"I must speak to my family about this," said N. "We own everything on this property equally. I'm sure they'd agree, since we often don't know what to do with our Berry surplus. We let our grunts take what they need and there's still so much left over. Tomorrow, we’re planning to make lots of our special Berry Juice and I know there’d still be plenty of leftovers. I’d hate for it to go to waste."

"We've been having a surplus with Honey too," said Leavanny. "It's why I want to trade. It's so much honey that our trainer decided to create an art installation in his gym with it because he wasn't allowed to sell it or donate it to a food bank."

"Why?" asked N.

"Something about him not being a professional and licensed apiarist – Combeekeeper," said Vespiquen. "Humans don't even make Honey, they just collect it. He's called apiarists but they're too busy in Floccesy Ranch to bother to come here to collect the Honey. He doesn't know what to do with it. And yes, he's tried to make paint with it, but it doesn't work."

"I understand," said N, who pulled out his phone and took notes. 

"Had I known becoming the most powerful Vespiquen in Unova would've involved this mess afterwards, I wouldn't have evolved," said Vespiquen. "The more powerful you are, the more Combees come to your aid. Not just them, but Beedril too. Then you have a massive colony that makes too much Honey. And your poor trainer, who only wants to train Bug-types doesn't know what to do with the Honey because he's not 'legally' allowed to do anything. You must understand that this is urgent."

As the pokémon continued to chat with N, Burgh’s TurTwitter DM notifications started going off in rapid succession. Without even having to check, Burgh knew it was Alder. 

“We can stop for a bit,” said N.

Burgh nodded in agreement, as he left the throne room to wash his hands in the nearby restroom and check his messages. N took off his high-heels and realized why his father chose to wear his comfortable medieval clogs instead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * The Harmonias’ royal family photoshoot isn’t just something that only they do. Other royals from distant regions do this too. 
>   * These Dittos are either “rescued” pokémon or offspring of “rescued” pokémon. Shiny Ditto is the same genned Ditto mentioned in [“Infiltration: A Daycare Story”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27607067/chapters/67539026). 
>   * I needed to have a mandatory mention as to why other cities were added in BW2. Charmandering was my solution, which I feel is appropriately Unovan. 
>   * N’s portrait, at least how I imagine it to be, is supposed to be like [“The Portrait of Charles II” by John Michael Wright](https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/portrait-of-king-charles-ii). Except he’s holding that inert pokéball and Reshiram is on the ground. 
>   * I wasn’t sure if I wanted to portray Burgh positively or negatively in this. In the first game he had a honey installation in Castelia Gym as an obstacle. Honey is a food. So either he’s wasting food for this, or (as I chose) he couldn’t legally do much with the honey and was forced to “waste” it. His portrayal here is supposed to be neutral. But I’m not sure if that was well-executed.
> 



	10. Their False Identities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N is posing for his portrait, while the UR inspector begins his inspection.

Looker had summoned his Croagunk to help him navigate the castle. Although the UR had given Looker a map, every single hallway in the castle was nearly identical. This was intentional, because it confused intruders, rendering them easy to locate and apprehend. He was informed by his supervisors that the Seven Sages and N were fluent in Kalosian, his native language. However, this did not deter Looker from speaking to his Croagunk in Kalosian.

“It will take me a week, if not, more to search this entire castle from top to bottom,” said Looker. “I’m going to search the central area first, then move to the extended east and west wings. The UR expects a detailed report.”

Concerned, Croagunk replied, “Yes, but I don’t mind spending a week here. The castle is nice. Unfortunately, the pokémon who live here have figured out that you’re a member of the International Police and are keeping a close eye on us. Not that it’s surprising, Team Plasma is made up of delinquents and their pokémon are always on the lookout for cops.”

Although Looker couldn’t speak in pokémon like N, he understood exactly what Croagunk had told him. After all, the pair had been inseparable since preschool; having known each other for decades.

One of the Joltiks who was following Looker from the rafters said to the other Joltik, “No! They’re onto us.” 

“Shh!” hissed the other as they continued to follow Looker and Croagunk.

Unfortunately, Looker was trying to do his job as the UR inspector and wasn’t doing any other type of suspicious investigation. Looker was aware that searching for clues in Team Plasma Castle was going to be a difficult task. He had been warned that Team Plasma made information about their activities available to the public since they were a “non-profit charitable organization” and under various technicalities worked “innocently”. 

Still, this didn't make Team Plasma immune to ridiculous accusations. Recently, it had come to the International Police's attention that Lord Ghetsis was impersonating Professor Grand Oak and had stolen pokémon from several trainers. However, it became apparent that there was some misunderstanding involved. Ghetsis looked nearly identical to Grand Oak when he wore sunglasses and a white shirt. Even though his hair was still mint green and he was incapable of growing a beard. (This made Ghetsis feel self-conscious around his fellow sages who all had magnificent beards, except him.) Gullible trainers willingly gave Ghetsis their pokémon, when they ran into him on the streets. They never bothered to verify his identity. Ghetsis said nothing because he was used to youths, the younger grunts, randomly giving him pokémon they found. Even Looker had confused Ghetsis for Grand Oak and all Ghetsis wore was his sunglasses, along with the princely Baroque costume for the photoshoot. For this reason, Looker found Ghetsis innocent of the accusation.

But for Looker, Ghetsis' innocence stopped right there. He had spoken to Ghetsis earlier, and could tell that Ghetsis was the secretive type, even though they only talked about the castle. Ghetsis had the exact tired gaze, blood-red eyes and mischievous eyebrows that his former superior, Agent 000, had. (Not that this was a bad thing, all it did was emphasize that Ghetsis was a massive introvert.) Ghetsis was completely honest with Looker on their first meeting, but somehow managed to be very shady. (Perhaps, it had something to do with Ghetsis’ choice of dialogue music.) 

As Looker continued his inspection, the remaining Harmonias hurried to remove their formal attire. (Their beautiful outfits were too restricting and uncomfortable.) Ghetsis switched to his black vestments, since he was needed at the chapel. Anthea went to the kitchen. The day had gone by so fast, that she decided to prepare lunch with some grunts. Concordia went to her room upstairs to figure out where she left off in the game she played. College took up too much of her time that she didn't have time for games anymore. 

Meanwhile, Burgh had decided to take a photo of N and Reshiram, using it as a reference to paint from, as N got partially undressed and walked around the throne room. As far as they were concerned, Madame Clairdonna had just left a few minutes ago. She had called her grandson to take her back home, so she wasn't going to be barging into the throne room to scold both N and Burgh for not doing the portrait properly. (As in, N sitting still on the throne the whole time while Burgh worked.)

Reshiram was unbothered by their decision to not follow the rules. He could see that N wasn't the type who'd be able to stay sitting still for so long. Even if the throne itself was a very comfortable chair. Reshiram, who was lying down on the ground, was comfortable where he was at.

An Abomasnow knocked on the door and entered the throne room. Upon seeing him, N's eyes lit up and he asked Reshiram, "Is it wrong to ask him to be my body double? I've heard countless times in art class that working with the actual subject is better than using a photograph."

"You should ask Burgh," purred Reshiram. "He’s indifferent to what happens as long as he gets paid. He didn't even want this job to begin with, you can see it in his eyes."

Leavanny overheard Reshiram and smiled nervously because it was true. However, his trainer didn't have much of a choice in the matter. As both a gym leader and an artist, his income was unpredictable. The king's portrait was the most lucrative commission he had received in years. It would guarantee his finances for the next five years.

N approached Burgh with the Abomasnow. Burgh turned to look at him rather peeved, since he didn't appreciate the interruption. 

"Would you be interested in painting a Ditto version of me?" asked N. "That way you wouldn't drain your phone battery while looking at the photo.”

The Abomasnow, who was actually a Ditto, suddenly Transformed into N's body double, right down to the outfit, in front of Burgh. The only difference was that the double had Ditto’s face. 

"Sure," shrugged Burgh. "Do you have a LyPhone charger? Mine's at 15%."

N's real Abomasnow pulled out a spare charger and handed it to N. N took Burgh's phone and walked over to a nearby outlet to charge it, as the Ditto N took a seat in the throne. Leavanny and Vespiquen hurried to position the draped cloth as it was in the photo.

N finally arrived at the outlet, which was near the entrance and plugged it in. He turned around and saw the ridiculous platform his throne was on. But since this castle was actually designed and built by pokémon, that’s exactly how they liked it. (Despite it being ridiculously impractical for humans.)

Burgh couldn't help but be disturbed by the Ditto's beady eyes, but kept working anyway because he needed to get the details on the clothes. 

Just then, Ghetsis entered the throne room, with the Royal Harmonia Scepter in hand. N’s eyes widened when he saw Ghetsis at the door, fearing he was about to receive a scolding. Instead, Ghetsis smiled and said to N, “Perhaps next year we could ask some of the Dittos to disguise themselves as us. Too bad there’s always small talk and they’d catch us faking.” Ghetsis pulled out from beneath his black vestments, a neatly folded baggy T-shirt, some sweatpants, and slippers, handing them to N. “I personally can’t stand wearing these historical royal outfits for more than 2 hours.”

“Where can I change?” asked N. “The nearby bathroom is too small.”

“Tell your friend to make a barrier with his body and act as a dressing divider,” said Ghetsis. “Do it across from the throne in a corner.”

Ghetsis and Abomasnow stood in front of a corner, covering N, as he finished changing into his baggy clothes. As soon as N was finished, Ghetsis helped N fold the clothes. Ghetsis had also brought two long towels and placed them on the cold, stone floor. He sat on one and N sat on the other as they watched Burgh paint. The towels were too short for them to lie down on.

What surprised Burgh the most was how casual the Harmonias and Team Plasma were. He didn’t think they’d be like that, since they were into a lot of pageantry. All of this became apparent the moment Madame Clairdonna had left. Everyone living in the castle collectively chilled out, including the pokémon.

Sensing Burgh’s concern, Ghetsis said, “It would be cruel to disappoint that old woman. The Riches’ matriarch has fond memories of what castle life was like before my family’s ‘defeat’. I wouldn’t be surprised if she and the rest of the Riches move back to Hoenn the moment my castle collapses. They’d be forever haunted by its destruction.”

Burgh was unsure about Ghetsis' comment because it sounded like an attempt at guilt-tripping him for challenging Team Plasma a few weeks ago. 

But he didn't have much time to think of it because Ghetsis’ phone rang. Ghetsis answered it on speakerphone, because it was from Anthea. “Father, lunch is ready. Please tell N and the painter that it’s time for lunch.”

“Alright, thank you and take care,” replied Ghetsis as he hung up.

N got up and helped Ghetsis to his feet. Unlike other times where N tried to help, only to be swatted away, Ghetsis accepted his help. N wondered if the Lucky Egg his father ate for breakfast had something to do with it – softening him up enough to make him less distant. They got up and exited the throne room, with N’s pokémon following them closely behind.

“Reshiram, may you please take us to the kitchen?” said N as he called back his other pokémon into their balls.

Sighing, Reshiram allowed both N and Ghetsis to ride him and took them to the kitchen. Fortunately, Burgh had a map of the castle and was able to go to the kitchen on his own after he washed his hands. He continued to message Alder and told him everything he had seen and heard in the castle.

The rest of the evening went well, although Team Plasma was uncomfortable about Looker and Burgh being there.

N went to the study to meet with Ryoku, like they had planned. Ryoku was accompanied by the other sages, including Colress, whom they dragged out of bed. The first thing Ryoku did was show everyone present the dream Musharna had harvested from Ghetsis. 

What they saw was not something they expected to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * As far as I know, Looker’s nationality isn’t mentioned in the games. I just decided to make him Kalosian based on that XY Post-Game. 
>   * I’m convinced Ghetsis (and N too) can’t grow out facial hair. The other Six Sages have beards and I’m sure Ghetsis would have the longest and thickest beard, if he was able to grow it out. At least father and son don’t need to worry about shaving. 
>   * Ghetsis has eyes like Nanu, the Alolan Meowth trainer. 
>   * It appears that Team Plasma is one of the more casual regional villainous teams in this AU. They do their strict marching publicly. In their bases, they dress down. It is also very likely that Ghetsis is actively encouraging this laid back behavior. 
>   * Reshiram is strong-enough to carry two riders.
> 



	11. The Dragon King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A random filler chapter that's a flashback to a moment in Ghetsis' childhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * The title is an obvious “The Lion King” parody because that’s what this chapter is supposed to be. 
> 


Musharna’s Dream Mist replayed a significant event in Ghetsis’ childhood, taking place back in the autumn of 1970. Ghetsis was taken to the Giant Chasm by his uncle in law. His uncle wanted Ghetsis to learn how to catch pokémon by watching him. (A common practice among Unovans which served as a bonding experience between mentor and mentee.) N and the sages remembered Ghetsis telling them this anecdote on various occasions, so they knew immediately what was going on in the dream as they observed it.

In the dream, Ghetsis spoke, "Uncle, why didn't you let me bring Joseph? He's really good at finding pokémon. He found those Lillipups who got in the east wing."

"Ghetsis…," said his uncle. "…Stop with your nonsense. Do you realize how… _weird_ you sound? Some stupid Joltik isn't going to help us here. Dear Arceus, every word you speak is offensive and disgraces our family."

"…" 

"This is why I've brought you here," replied his uncle. "Hopefully, when you learn to catch a pokémon, you'll learn how to act like a normal human being. It’s something that _must_ be done. You're the only biological heir the Harmonias have and represent our family, but your…nonsense is embarrassing. Be quiet, watch, and learn."

They continued to silently walk together in the forest. But since this was Ghetsis' dream, his feelings were audibly expressed in the Dream Mist, "You shameless parasite, did you really think _I'm_ the embarrassment and the disgrace? You were given the privilege of marrying into royalty and you cheated on Aunt! We found out at your funeral when your peasant mistress showed up. You bastard, undeserving of forgiveness! How I despise disloyal men, like you – the type who turn their back on family and honor, over some transient 'crush'."

The sages' eyes widened since N and Colress, whom they viewed as children, were present with them. Colress was especially uncomfortable because these grievances were too personal and he barely knew Ghetsis. Unfortunately, there was no way to mute the Dream Mist and he had no choice but to actively try to ignore this rant which wasn't intended to leave Ghetsis' mind. The accusatory rant was lengthy. Ghetsis was hurt and offended, mostly because he felt he wasted his early childhood trying to gain his uncle's approval. He felt foolish for looking up to such a horrible man. 

Ghetsis' voiceover continued ranting as the Dream Mist showed the long, quiet walk to the Giant Chasm. Finally, the pair arrived, after their long walk. They didn't find any pokémon to catch along the way. 

"To this day, I wonder if the pokémon sensed his wickedness that none were found," said Ghetsis, whose voice sounded both hesitant and saddened. "I doubt he used a Repel because the pokémon from this area are very strong. To think this was my first ever visit to the Giant Chasm. The view was as lovely and awe-inspiring then, as it is now. It was one of the very few worthwhile moments from this trip. How I wished it lasted longer." 

The Dream Mist showed everyone the view Ghetsis had seen back in 1970. For a moment, his tension and resentment ceased. The flashback fast-forwarded, to reveal that this was the true location of his honeymoon. He specifically wanted to go here to enjoy the view without worry, since he had always seen his wife as a harmless woman. The vision slowly shifted back to 1970. As Ghetsis had said, the view hadn't changed much. 

Suddenly, Ghetsis felt like he was shoved into the Giant Chasm the moment he got distracted staring at it. Thinking fast, Ghetsis used Electroweb! Grabbing onto both of his uncle's arms because he was the only other person there. Electroweb was the first pokémon move he ever learned. Joseph, Ghetsis' shiny Joltik, and the other Joltiks taught him that special attack in case he fell from the rafters, where he often played with the Joltiks.

Unfortunately, Ghetsis had been pushed so violently and unexpectedly, that the force was enough to pull his uncle down with him, electrocuting his uncle in the process. As they fell, the last thing Ghetsis remembered was that his uncle gave him a hateful glare on their way down. Although he didn’t say a word, it was as if he cursed Ghetsis in just about every way imaginable because he had an immense hatred for his young royal nephew.

The dream went dark and Musharna burped. It was just as upsetting to see as it was to ingest. 

“Ghetsis never told us this,” said Bronius.

“He told me, sort of,” replied N. “He said he fell down the Giant Chasm and that his uncle tried to rescue him but both of them ended up falling down together. His uncle did not survive the fall. Because of this, father became the man of the house at the age of 7.”

The sages shook their heads.

Rood said, “How unfortunate, but I disagree with this coping method. Lord Ghetsis is ‘bad-mouthing’ a man who’s been dead for 41 years, because he’s nervous about today’s photoshoot. I have no doubt that man deserves it, but this isn’t the time for this.”

“Excuse me,” interrupted Musharna, “There’s more to the dream.”

“Musharna says there’s a second part,” said N, as he and the other sages got ready to watch. Zinzolin, pulled out a big bag of chips and passed it around to his companions.

The Dream Mist revealed the second part of the dream. Young Ghetsis had “woken up” lying down in someone's green yard. Sitting next to him was a Deino who appeared to be about his age. Deino sniffed Ghetsis and said, “Yay! You’re awake! Do you want to come over to my house and play?”

Assuming that all houses had telephones, Ghetsis agreed and followed Deino to his house, which was nearby. It was a modest white cottage with a red roof. Deino opened the door and said, "Shh! Go to my room. I don't want mom to yell at me."

Deino escorted Ghetsis to his bed and covered him with a blanket and his human plushies, in an attempt to hide him. Ghetsis touched his face because he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming. Finally, he asked Deino, “May I borrow your phone? I need to call Mother and tell her I’m okay.”

"What's a phone?" asked Deino.

Suddenly, Ghetsis began to cry inconsolably. It felt as if several hours had passed and he knew his mom would be worried about him. His uncle had promised her that they’d be back before 3:00 PM. Deino tried to comfort Ghetsis in an attempt to silence him but it was no use. Deino's mom, a Zweilous, heard Ghetsis and rushed into the room. 

She gasped and said, "Natural! What is that young human doing here?! This…this is not what I meant when I said, 'Go team up with a human in order to train and become more powerful.' You're supposed to go to his house, not bring him here to the Dream World. Return him to his people immediately!"

"Mom!" cried Natural. "I don't even know where he lives. I found him inside the Giant Chasm. There's no reason a baby human would be there by himself unless he's been orphaned."

Zweilous turned around and smacked her Deino. Not knowing what came over him, Ghetsis flung another Electroweb at Zweilous and grabbed Deino with him. But he didn't get far because he tripped and shot another Electroweb which tangled up both him and Deino. They landed sitting on the floor, un-electrocuted. 

Managing to untangle herself, Zweilous left her house. Ghetsis was still crying and gasped, "Uncle was right. I'm absolutely useless. I couldn’t even save us from your mother's scolding."

"He's wrong," said Natural. "I don't think humans are supposed to shoot webs or even know moves at all. He's probably jealous that you learned them, which makes you superior to him and other humans."

"Do you really think so?" asked Ghetsis, who had never heard anyone who wasn't his mother praise him like that before.

"Yeah," said Natural, who tried to wiggle out but was stuck for the next few turns. 

The suspense felt like a greater punishment than anything a mother pokémon could throw at them. A while later, Ghetsis and Deino felt heavy footsteps. Zweilous was accompanied by a large black, red-eyed dragon. The black dragon cut the web with her claws, separating the young boys from each other. 

Ghetsis tried to flee but the black dragon got a hold of him with her right arm. She looked at him and said, "You're no Hero of Ideals, but you’re the closest one I’ve seen in years. Listen, I'm going to find a way to get you back home but you have to come with me."

“Can I come too?” asked Natural.

The black dragon turned to look at the mother Zweilous. She sighed and said, “Fine. If she’s successful, we might never physically see each other again because you’ll be living with this young green-haired human while you train to become more powerful. Farewell.”

Natural approached his mom and she licked him on his head with both her heads. He followed Ghetsis and the black dragon out of the house. The black dragon said to Ghetsis, “Climb on my back and hold on tightly.”

Ghetsis and Natural got on her back and she flew away from Natural’s house, which was actually on top of a floating island. (There were several floating islands. Each of them had their yards with a modest garden. Some houses were small, and others were very large.) As they flew, the black dragon said to Ghetsis, “I’ve been wandering the Dream World for centuries because I’m trapped in a Dark Stone. I will be reawakened when the Hero of Ideals finds the Dark Stone in the…”

Ghetsis’ voice was heard again. “I’m forever haunted that I failed to retrieve her stone. All this time, I thought it was hidden away in Dragonspiral Tower because I remembered her _specifically_ mentioning that location. Unfortunately, I couldn't go there myself immediately afterwards. After our fateful encounter, I became deaf towards pokémon. All hope was lost. However, I made up my mind to instill righteousness in the hearts of those I meet. That way, even if I was unable to free her, she’d be at peace knowing that there’s some Unovans out there who are good people. It wasn’t until later that I realized that my only son could speak to pokémon. I took him to Dragonspiral Tower, after he was old enough to rationalize, so he could free this dragon from her stone. Turns out, I found the _Light_ Stone instead. But such is my fate in life.”

N had covered his face and the sages looked at him, not sure what he was upset about. N couldn't help but feel like he let down his father by summoning the wrong dragon, even if it was Ghetsis' fault for taking him to the wrong location because he misremembered what was said to him. 

Musharna sneezed and one final vision was that of young Ghetsis getting dressed up to go to a presentation. This was the exact vision that N had seen earlier that morning. However, rather than getting ready for the photoshoot, Ghetsis was getting ready for his uncle’s closed-casket funeral. Ghetsis spoke again, “The Plasmas photo, this parasite’s funeral; it’s all the same. I don’t want to go but I’m socially _obligated_ to attend. From what read in the coroner’s report, Uncle was defeated immediately on impact. How disappointing! All his bones were shattered and I had hoped he suffered in his last moments. As for myself, I don’t remember what I did to survive. It’s probably best I forgot because this was traumatizing. How many years have passed and I still have nightmares about it? I made sure my children learned Electroweb.”

Finally, the dream was over. N, the sages, and Colress were shaken by what they had observed. 

“Your majesty,” said Ryoku, “would it be prudent of me to send out Musharna again, after I return from Relic Castle, so he could capture more of your father’s dreams? I believe that by gaining more insight into his thoughts, we can figure out how to better help him.”

“Agreed,” said Rood. “Internalizing everything isn’t good. It makes him into a ticking time bomb that would go off at any given moment, especially in an inappropriate situation.”

“Let me think about it,” said N. “I know that father is a very private man, who prefers to hide his weaknesses from others. I would hate to make him feel exposed and humiliated. Being from us would make it worse, since we’re people he must surely trust and it would feel like a painful betrayal. It’s probably for the best that we do it again at a much later time.”

Everyone agreed before going back to their rooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Ghetsis has no respect for anyone who’d betray their family. Since their actions remind him of his abusive, adulterous uncle. And obviously, this is a jab at N’s canonical portrayal since he thinks “searching for his friend” is more important than being with his sisters and pokémon friends, who all supposedly suffered alongside him. 
>   * Ghetsis had a “secret honeymoon” because if it was publicly known where he went, paparazzi wouldn’t leave him or his wife alone. 
>   * “Natural” is Hydreigon’s real name and why Ghetsis felt it was appropriate to name N after him. Even though this caused confusion and the baby was nicknamed “N” instead. 
>   * Ghetsis actually went “deaf” towards pokémon after his coronation. He had to deliver his first speech in front of a national audience on live TV. This was obviously very traumatizing to a sheltered young boy who only knew a handful of people, but had to give a flawless speech to millions or else he’d embarrass his entire family.
> 



	12. Pocket Dignitary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After everyone gets ready to sleep for the night, N travels to the Dream World for some important business.

N returned to his room to get ready for bed when he spotted Joseph, Ghetsis' shiny Galvantula, on his bed. Joseph was accompanied by the Applin and the Milcery, two pokémon that Ghetsis had managed to smuggle into Unova, back when the Harmonias visited Galar in 1998. (This was shortly before the embargo which was effective on January 1, 1999.) Concerned about the inspector, due to their dubious legality, the pair was ordered to hide in N’s room and Joseph had brought them over. It was not uncommon to see his father's pokémon before bed. They often stopped by to wish him goodnight.

“You’ll have more roommates tonight,” said Joseph.

“Yes,” said N as he hurried to make room for them. He found a basket and folded a t-shirt in it for padding. N picked up Applin and laid her inside the basket. Milcery followed and sat next to her friend.

As N was trying to accommodate his guests, Joseph whispered to Darmanitan who had finished picking out N’s pajamas, “Please tell N that holding a secret meeting without his father, when they are talking about him, is rude and will worsen his paranoia.”

“So that’s what that was about?” asked Darmanitan.

“Yes,” replied Joseph. “I wanted to tell N myself, but I worry about guilt-tripping him. I only want him to know that it has hurt his father's feelings. If these meetings truly were about his father’s health concerns, as I overheard, they should've included him. Even if he’d deny he has a problem, well, multiple ones. It’s better for him to know than to assume they’re plotting against him.”

“I understand,” said Darmanitan.

“Thank you,” replied Joseph, who waved goodbye to everyone and left the room, climbing the walls and squeezing into the rafters.

Darmanitan noticed that the pair of Galarian pokémon got comfortable in their basket and seemed to have fallen asleep. He turned his attention to N and told him what Joseph had said to him. N frowned, hoping that his father wouldn’t have found out about it. Still, he wasn’t surprised by how quickly the news spread throughout the castle. The pokémon living there were very loyal to Ghetsis, especially those who had grown up alongside him like Joseph, Natural, and the mother Stoutland. They always let him know what was happening.

Covering his face, N whispered to Darmanitan, “What do I do now?”

“Apologize when the moment is right,” said Darmanitan. 

N’s TurTwitter DM notification went off and N hurried to check his messages. It was from an online friend that N had met on SoundSwab, nicknamed “Ziggy”.

The DM read, "Sorry mate, been real busy. This training business is hard work. Just listened to your latest track and wanna freestyle it but I can't make up my mind when it comes to lyrics."

N wanted to reply but he and Darmanitan heard a knock on the door and N answered it. 

It was his sisters. They closed the door and Anthea said, “We’re offering you an invitation to go to father’s room with us right now to wish him goodnight.”

"Okay," said N, who turned to Darmanitan and said to him, "Excuse me." N left with his sisters.

As they walked down the hallway, N said, "A Vespiquen has offered me several hundred pounds of Honey in exchange for several hundred pounds of assorted berries. She's going to send her workers to deliver it, to our pokémon's homes, if we accept her offer."

"That's a good deal," said Anthea. "Raw Honey like this is very valuable. It's the best kind of sweetener around."

"How'd you get offered this deal?" asked Concordia. "Vespiquens don't live around these parts."

"That gym leader who is painting my portrait has a Vespiquen," said N. "This deal is between me and her, not him. She approached me with the offer and I told her that I'll discuss it with my family."

"I didn't know he had a Vespiquen," said Concordia. 

"He has to," said Anthea. "Gym Leaders are expected to have a variety of pokémon to shuffle up their team roster for trainers who are wanting to challenge them for a badge. Because of the internet, there's lots of sites and blogs dedicated to posting battling strategy guides to prepare yourself to go up against Gym Leaders. The Regional Leagues are quite strict when it comes to winning or losing. If a Gym Leader loses too many battles in a way that their opponent obliterates them, they must resign. To keep their position, they are forced to look up these blogs too and figure out how to make those strategy guides useless. And they must use the type of pokémon they specialize in, even though there's a bit of leeway."

N was concerned upon hearing this.

Anthea shrugged, because this was the reality she learned of during her nursing studies. After all, the majority of patients, like 70% - 80%, were pokémon who had been battling competitively. Some of these pokémon were proud of their injuries, because they won. Others were completely distressed because they didn’t want to fight and had no choice than to be a pawn in complicated Pokémon League politics.

They arrived at their father's bed chamber and knocked on the door. 

Cofagrigus opened the door and let them inside, he said to N, "Your father is getting dressed." N relayed the message to his sisters. They waited until Ghetsis stepped out from behind his dressing divider in his comfy long white nightgown, which his pokémon had picked out for him. It was similar to the one Darmanitan had ready for N to change into.

"What's going on?" asked Ghetsis.

"We have come to wish you goodnight, but N has informed us that a Vespiquen wants to give us a lot of Honey in exchange for berries," said Concordia.

N pulled out the scrap piece of paper that Vespiquen had given him. 

"Thank you," said Ghetsis as he took the paper. "Pokémon are more professional than humans, aren't they?" He read the note and added, "What perfect timing, almost. Tomorrow we've got that trip to the water park. But it won't hurt to inform the pokémon here at the castle, and give them the berries, so they could take them to the Dream World to trade." He returned the note to N.

They continued to chat, but N wasn't able to tell his father about his meeting with the sages because his sisters didn't know about it either. He sensed that his father knew about it, but it was inappropriate to bring it up. The children bid their father goodnight and tucked him into bed with his Hydreigon, who was pleasantly surprised by this.

Satisfied, the children headed back to their rooms. 

Afterwards, N finally got ready and went to bed and changed into his white nightgown. There, Darmanitan tucked N into bed, as Reshiram observed. Reshiram found it strange that N wore his white clogs to bed, since N couldn’t even sleep with socks on. However, N was exhausted and fell asleep with his Zorua, Marrón. Both of them disappeared from underneath the covers, right before Reshiram’s eyes.

Realizing what occurred, Reshiram asked Darmanitan, “You sent N to the Dream World?!”

“Of course,” said Darmanitan. “He has an important errand he needs to do.”

“It’s not safe for him to be there!” gasped Reshiram.

“Why not?” asked Darmanitan.

Meanwhile, N and Marrón reappeared in Marrón's mansion. (Actually, this mansion belonged to Marrón's entire extended family who still lived in Pinwheel Forest.) His relatives, several other Zoruas and Zoroarks, were happy to see N.

Marrón's mother, a Zoroark, greeted them. She said to N, "Wow you’re so big! Please come inside." She guided N and her son into the mansion. "What brings you here?"

"I need to speak with a Vespiquen," said N. "She approached me earlier today with a request to trade lots of berries for Honey. She will be coming here, to Pinwheel Manor, with her attendants. I apologize for this being on such short notice."

“That’s alright,” she replied. “It sounds like a good unexpected offer. I hope it works out.”

Suddenly, loud droning was heard outside, and N looked out the window and spotted a swarm of Combees. They noticed him and approached the window. Burgh's Vespiquen came from inside the swarm and greeted him. 

"I expected an entourage, but not like this," replied N, who turned to the mother Zoroark and added, "I'll be on my way." He turned to Marrón, and said to him, "See you in the morning. Goodbye!" 

N climbed out of the window and observed that some Combees had stacked on top of each other to form a throne. 

“Have a seat,” said Vespiquen. As she helped N to the throne. The swarm was quieter than earlier. (Of course, they had to make noise to announce their arrival.) 

Marrón and his mom waved goodbye to N, as he got carried off by the swarm once he was situated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * “Realistically,” pokémon should be more loyal to Ghetsis than N. But again, this Ghetsis was never mean or cruel to his pokémon. In fact, the cruelty he witnessed done by other humans was what drove him to learn many moves himself. 
>   * I often wonder how many trainers participate in gym challenges. Though the idea of Gym Leaders actively researching strategy was based on PoGO guides and game guides that people blog about to help other players. 
>   * The four Harmonias are very affectionate with one another. The children have never felt embarrassed or ashamed that their father has tucked them in into their teens and beyond. 
>   * N had traveled to the Dream World on previous occasions. But he has only stayed in the Fox mansion. 
>   * He also has more faith in the stability of the Combee throne than he does in humanity. (You can thank the internet for that.)
> 



	13. A Friend like This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introspective filler chapter.

N wasn’t the only human in Dream World. One of the other humans there was his father, Ghetsis. Unlike N, Ghetsis woke up on the grass, just as he did back some 40 years ago. It took him a moment to realize what had happened. 

While he processed his predicament, he heard a gentle but ominous voice say to him, “Good, you’re awake.”

Ghetsis turned around and saw his Hydreigon, Natural, floating above him. He tried to get up, but didn't have the strength to do so. Hydreigon tried to help Ghetsis to his feet but struggled. They had to work quickly. Barely managing to get his foot through the door, Ghetsis and Hydreigon both heard a loud droning sound and saw a swarm of Combees flying towards the east. Ghetsis’ right eye sparkled and he said to Natural, “N is with them.”

“What makes you so sure?” asked Natural, who struggled to see because it was too bright outside.

“I recognize my own children from anywhere,” replied Ghetsis, as he watched N travel on the fancy Combee throne. “Don’t you remember how he was talking about trading berries for Honey? This must be part of the negotiations.”

“Interesting, especially since he’s traveling so _openly_ ,” replied Natural. “Apparently, it’s forbidden for a human to come into the Dream World and punishment for doing so is execution. But this is N; he’s renowned among pokémon. I understand why he’d be given an exemption; he's different from other trainers. As for you, perhaps not. Quickly, come inside!” Taking heed, Ghetsis retreated further into the house and Natural closed the door behind them.

“I’m curious as to why you brought me here, given all the risks you just mentioned,” said Ghetsis. “It’s not like last time when we were both young boys who didn’t know any better.”

“It’s not hard to figure out,” said Natural. “But if you insist, I think you need to get out of the castle for a bit and unwind. So I've taken matters into my own hands…heads, or whatever.”

“Tomorrow I have that trip to the water park with my children,” said Ghetsis. “You can join us, if you'd like. I know you dislike going on outings a few days apart from each other. So I didn't invite you earlier. It’s an early morning outing though – too early for any paparazzi. Then, we’re going to Pizza Hatterene for lunch, before returning to the castle.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” replied Natural. “In the Dream World, what lies deep within your heart and soul is clearer than fresh spring water. I regret not bringing you here sooner but I caught a whiff of Dream Mist on our bed this morning and that left me no choice but to take you here tonight. I’m sorry for having to tell you this, but you’re my friend and you deserve to know the truth. I have some handkerchiefs if you'd like one.”

“Yes, please,” said Ghetsis as his voice cracked.

Natural handed Ghetsis the handkerchief and said, “I’m sure that Musharna, guessing by how strong the Dream Mist was, was sent over to collect your dream for analysis. Your refusal to talk about problems is well-known and disliked. For this reason, they felt it was more efficient to take your dreams and analyze them, as opposed to asking you what’s wrong. You don’t have to tell me anything. I respect your desire for privacy.”

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” mumbled Ghetsis. “Victory was meant to grant me the liberation I had been craving since childhood. As the ruler of Unova, I was supposed to be free from subjugation. Instead, the burden of leadership has grown heavier and this illness that has befallen me, is an unexpected obstacle.”

“You’re not obligated to lead as the ruler,” said Natural.

“I know, but I’m obliged to do so,” replied Ghetsis. “Mother raised me to be _perfect_ , so it is my duty to fix most, if not, all of Unova’s problems. This is what a perfect ruler _must_ do. Unfortunately, recent occurrences have made that difficult to achieve.”

“You’re not obliged either because N is the King of Unova, not you,” said Natural. “Let him deal with it.”

“I can’t do that either,” said Ghetsis, who paused to wipe his nose. “A perfect father would never intentionally abandon his children in the middle of something so important…” 

Natural paused to think about what to say next. Of course, this was the Dream World, where everyone spoke with utmost sincerity. His right lesser head blurted out, “Okay, I now understand why my Ghetsis won and why the other Ghetsises lost.”

“Why?” asked the left lesser head.

“He has a coherent and logical code of honor,” replied his right head. “The other ones never cared for anyone else, not even their pups.”

“I don’t think the other ones actually sired their pups,” replied the left head. “They found them in the forest.”

“But my Ghetsis found those three pups in the forest too, and still raised them right,” insisted the right head. “He raised six pups like an efficient and balanced team of pokémon. He raised good pups.”

“How do you know about the others from the alternate worlds?” asked Ghetsis. “There’s no way you would’ve known unless you somehow logged into my laptop.”

“I peered over your shoulder while you were on your laptop,” scoffed Natural, who knew Ghetsis’ password but respected his trainer to not log in without permission. “Your mistake is comparing yourself to those losers. Even my brainless lesser heads know that you are superior to them in every possible way imaginable. That main loser lost because he delegated key parts of his plan to incompetents. But you have always been a man who takes matters into his own paws; even when you’re indirectly involved in your schemes. This is another reason that you've won.”

"I don't care about those foolish men," replied Ghetsis. "You are correct that they condemned themselves to defeat for placing so much faith in humans. I almost made a similar mistake; thinking that humans were simple-minded creatures who are very suggestible. But no, humans are unpredictable because most of them only think about the present. This is why they liked the Colress from that world. He was a convenient ally at the moment, even though he personally abused many pokémon with his cruel experiments for many years, and continues to remain unrepentant to this day."

Ghetsis gave Natural a quick nervous glance. He hated being vulnerable because terrible things had happened to him in moments of vulnerability and he refused to let it happen again. But he knew he didn't have much of a choice. He could barely contain his sorrows. Taking a gamble, he said, “That’s not what upset me. Knowing that I wasted my life in futile attempts to please others and maintain order has destroyed me. No matter how hard I’ve tried, everything I’ve done has been an abysmal failure. I can never be at peace knowing that I'm somehow destined to lose. A perfect person can never lose and I'm _supposed_ to be perfect! Above all, I cannot live down the shame of knowing that I failed to raise a king, but instead raised a simp. Yet, _I'm_ somehow 'the winner'? My life is a series of cruel pranks. I hate this!” 

Natural made an uncomfortable expression before saying, "I think I understand. You've mentioned in several speeches that selfish trainers push their pokémon around. Of course, these humans always target the weakest and most vulnerable individuals. You know this too, which is why your current situation upsets you. You know you're next and this is the cruelest prank of all."

Ghetsis wailed and threw himself on the couch. Coming to terms that his worsening health was further proof of his imperfection, crushed him. A perfect person would never become so weak and be at the mercy of a simp. A perfect person was the only one capable of restoring his family to its former glory and he wasn't it, so it devastated him.

“Let it all out,” said Natural, as he pulled out another handkerchief and gave it to his trainer. “Perhaps, this is a sign that you must take your own advice and separate yourself from humans. From my own personal observations, humans have been the cause of your lifelong grief and misery. Since your infancy, they’ve been trying to control your indomitable spirit and shape you into something you are not meant to be. How can you be considered perfect, if you've been mis-categorized all your life? Back when I first saw you, I sensed a certain unknown potential you had within. The fact you know more moves and abilities than anyone else, is proof of this.” Natural’s three heads made eye-contact with Ghetsis and he added, “You're no ordinary human and that's what I love about you.” 

Ghetsis continued to cry, as Natural comforted him. After Ghetsis calmed down, Natural offered him a bagel with homemade Pinap Berry preserve spread on top. They had some tea and chatted about hobbies, particularly music which was Ghetsis’ favorite. To Ghetsis' surprise, his Cofagrigus stopped by and visited them. They also had a lot of catching up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Hydreigon is Ghetsis’ best friend just because that’s the kind of concept that drives this series’ narrative. 
>   * Canon states that a Hydreigon’s heads are brainless. Though it’s possible that Ghetsis has cared for his friend in such a way that the lesser heads have retained some of their sapience. In [“American Dream: Trainer’s Paradise”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22261849/chapters/53160109), Natural says he’s happy that his daughter evolved into a Hydreigon at a young age, since there’s the possibility that her lesser heads would retain more intelligence. (But then, like his trainer, Natural has sired an exceptionally gifted and genius offspring who will supersede him.) 
>   * As I watched the Rainbow Rocket episode playthrough, I had trouble siding with Colress. Surely this grown man who was in Lusamine’s mansion at the same time as these kids should have intervened sooner. But he chose not to.
>   * N is canonically a simp. However, this story is more of a…, “What happens if N wasn’t a simp and thought with his genius galaxy-brain instead of his…?” 
>   * I know the Pinap Berry spread on a bagel seems like an innocuous thing, but its mention was added in June or July of 2020, because I discovered that pineapples have anticoagulant properties. I had eaten too much pineapple preserve and it was one hellish month for me because of it. My blood became too watery.
> 



	14. The Negotiator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N strikes a deal with Vespiquen, while Reshiram reminisces with an old friend in an attempt to cheer them up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * The Dream World houses, from the browser games and the manga, don’t look as I described (except for Natural’s house in Chapter 13). But then, I’m sure pokémon have plenty of creativity and lack restrictions, so they do whatever they want. 
> 


N was still riding on the Combee throne on his way to Vespiquen’s colony. Although the ride was quite long, N enjoyed it because he loved the unique aerial view. Suddenly, Reshiram appeared out of nowhere and flew alongside the Combees. N waved at him, even though he could sense Reshiram’s unhappiness.

They finally arrived at Vespiquen’s colony. The colony consisted of multiple floating beehive-shaped islands with yellow hexagonal houses on top. The Bee pokémon were also flying around hurriedly. N was taken to Vespiquen's beehive, while Reshiram stood guard outside.

Vespiquen, who had realized what happened, whispered to N, “I didn’t think bringing you here would be a problem.”

“Why?” asked N as he walked down a pathway made out of honeycombs sealed off with beeswax, while Vespiquen flew next to him.

“Reshiram looks displeased,” said Vespiquen.

“My pokémon mentors have told me that Reshiram is the temperamental type,” replied N. “His strong desire to bring Truth and Justice makes him moody if others around him aren’t following the rules. I’ve been told that a human coming to the Dream World would be punished by execution, if caught. But wouldn’t executing a human go against pokémon’s inherent nature to protect humans? Even the 'bad ones' who are undeserving of protection.” 

Vespiquen wasn’t expecting N to be so clever. Her initial impressions of him were that he was an overgrown child with an overly doting single father, but N was such a good person that his dad’s well-intended care could never corrupt him into an insufferable bratty man-child. 

She nodded and said, “Yes, you make a good point. For years, I’ve dreamed of bringing my friend Burgh to my hive when he’s lacking artistic inspiration. But I don’t want him getting hurt. Pokémon colonies are rife with complex politics because many members are always trying to become the most powerful ones around, so they could rule. That's what I like about you humans, you don’t associate physical power with the ability to lead.”

N’s eyes widened because pokémon politics were no different than human politics. Recently, he was made aware of these politics when he spoke to his father’s Bisharp, a few weeks ago. (Bisharp told N that he had grown weak and was banished from his pack after being overthrown. He insisted that humans would never do such a thing because they respected their elders and would never callously throw them out when they became weak. Instead, they would take care of their elders as a thank you for all their years of service.) This revelation crushed N because all his life, he believed pokémon were more innocent than humans, but they were equally corrupt. But it made sense. This corruption was most obvious among legendaries, in how they had intense rivalries with each other. If these were truly innocent creatures, they would never be so hostile towards each other that they’d destroy the land in their battles.

Sensing the discomfort, Vespiquen said, “Anyway, about the Honey; as I said before, I can have my workers trade and deliver Honey to your allies over in a span of several days." 

Meanwhile, Reshiram was waiting outside and decided to help the hive's gardeners, while he waited for N. Channeling his powers, by flaring his tail, Reshiram formed a small cloud overhead and made it rain over their garden patch after they finished planting their seeds. 

Reshiram heard a familiar flapping from a distance and turned to see a mysterious gray dragon approaching the hive. He recognized this dragon as Kyurem, the Boundary Pokémon.

Kyurem landed next to Reshiram and said, "It's good to see you again. It's been…too long since I've been to the Dream World. As expected, it has changed a lot."

"You've been caught," said Reshiram.

"Yes," replied Kyurem. "It's been a year, but this man had been following me around for decades and only used regular and homemade pokéballs in his attempts. He's practically invisible because I can't detect him with my pit organs. He's a walking corpse, Reshiram. He appears from out of nowhere, challenging me to a battle. His pokémon once told me that he intended to capture me as a gift to his beloved. It's been a year and I've not seen this beloved because he just left me in the ball. Now, he decided to send me to the Dream World to collect items for him, but I refuse! He deserves nothing! I hate this man so much!"

"Other pokémon told me you were abducted by an alien," said Reshiram.

"He does sound foreign and occasionally wears a big fluffy coat that makes him look like a spaceship," replied Kyurem. "But I don't think he's an alien. He's just an inhuman freak without a _normal_ human heart because it's been frozen solid."

Reshiram pulled out an antique pokéball and some Revives for Kyurem. Kyurem took the pokéball and said, "I haven't seen these since the 1400's. Assumed those invaders destroyed them all and replaced them with their inferior balls. Hopefully, that walking corpse will be happy with this, but I know he's never happy with anything because he's always complaining."

"Perhaps telling you about my Hero of Ideals will take your mind off this man," said Reshiram.

Kyurem chuckled. "You can try."

* * *

That fateful encounter took place in the summer of 2007. N had completed his journey across Unova starting from Nuvema Town all the way back to Harmonia Castle, on Victory Road, a few weeks earlier. Unbeknownst to his father, N participated in several gym battles and won because his pokémon friends wanted to try it out for fun. (And they loved it.) Yet, it appeared that fate was uninterested in N meeting Reshiram, because all of Team Plasma's vehicles were having various mechanical problems. 

Undeterred, Ghetsis insisted on walking with N all the way to Icirrus City, because that's where Dragonspiral Tower was located. (He wanted to travel with the Pass Orb, but that wasn't working either because it needed re-tuning.) Of course, N's sisters wanted to join too and so the four Harmonias walked together to Dragonspiral Tower. The girls were excited because they always wanted to travel around the region with their pokémon but were too scared to go without their father. The trip was difficult because it was hot, humid, and the Nincadas wouldn't stop screaming. Despite this, everyone was in good spirits.

Their trip took two days. Mostly because Ghetsis was excited to show his children the area and his retelling of the area's history was long-winded rambling. They had set up camp for the night, because Ghetsis refused to give his money to League-sponsored lodges. 

As they ate their freshly-made curry, Ghetsis began to tell them about Zekrom, whom he described as a "black dragon who helps those with ideals that will help make the world a better place." Ghetsis didn't need to explain Team Plasma's ideals because those were exactly the same as Plasmanity, but slightly more militant. Yet, in his heart, N felt that the Truth was better than Ideals. Much of their region's problems were caused by politicians who refuse to govern truthfully.

Early the next morning, they arrived at Dragonspiral Tower and resumed their search for the Dark Stone, which Ghetsis insisted was somewhere inside the ruins. Around 10:00 AM, Anthea finally located a stone, but it was whitish and presented it to her father. Ghetsis took the stone and sensed its living energy but it all felt very wrong. Not wanting to worry his children, Ghetsis said that N needed to summon Zekrom at the top of Dragonspiral Tower. And once she was summoned, N had to tell her exactly what Ghetsis had told him during dinner. Hopefully, N would move her with this sincere heartfelt speech that she would have no choice but to side with Team Plasma. (And yes, Ghetsis naively believed that this legendary dragon pokémon could be manipulated with a sentimental speech. If it worked with humans, it would easily work with pokémon too.)

Once they got to the top of the tower, N held the stone and cried, "Zekrom, I choose you!" But nothing happened.

N immediately panicked. The last thing he wanted to do was to disappoint his father, who had spent years researching this legend, because he longed to restore the Harmonias' monarchical rule over Unova. (Since the royal family refused to accept dirty corporate money and therefore they'd rule more justly than the currently bribed politicians.) Taking a gamble, N shouted, "Reshiram, I chose you!"

With that, Reshiram was awakened from his Light Stone and appeared before N. N turned around to look at his family. While his sisters were excited to see Reshiram, his father had a shocked blank expression. Before N had the chance to process what occurred, Reshiram asked him, "Why have you summoned me?"

N's mind blanked out. Since he _did_ remember that a pokémon had spoken to him, he said in a mix of Zorua and Lillipup, "Help me fix Unova! The corrupt regional politics from the last 50 years has destroyed the lives of people and pokémon alike."

"What an interesting, yet broad request," replied Reshiram, who was curious as to why N wasn't speaking with human words. Reshiram was not expecting to stand before some feral youth barking at him after being freed. Having no idea what to do, except keeping calm, Reshiram continued, "Do you have any personal stakes in this too?"

"Yes!" cried N, in Unovan. He was becoming increasingly nervous, as he succumbed to Reshiram's intimidation. For this reason, he reverted to the native tongue of his people. "My family is meant to rule Unova, but we were pressured to give up power or else plunge Unova into a civil war. These so-called ‘liberators’ have enslaved Unova’s inhabitants and plundered our resources for their own selfish profit. I desire a coup to restore everything as it once was but I don't want anyone getting hurt. This is why I've come to you for help. I don't know what to do."

As N spoke, Reshiram looked around. He sensed Zekrom nearby but was unable to see her. Instead, he saw Ghetsis, who looked like an older version of N, accompanied by two girls who resembled them. Ghetsis was shielding both girls and appeared hesitant to jump in and grab N, but knew better than to interrupt. Reshiram noticed nothing particularly royal about the Harmonias. They were no different from ordinary peasants. Yet N had the commanding presence of a real king even though he looked like he crawled out of the forest. Despite his paradoxical first impression, Reshiram saw that N was an honest youth with a pure heart.

"Alright, I will help you, your majesty," said Reshiram.

N went to get a blank Master Ball but in his fear, he dropped his belt with pokéballs on it. Awkwardly, picking up his belt, N grabbed a Master Ball and approached Reshiram with it. N could hear his family yelling at him, but he was unable to process what they were telling him. (They begged him to throw the ball because Reshiram was dangerous and unpredictable.)

Reshiram was surprised to see N walk up to him with the pokéball in hand. He expected a battle. As far as N was concerned, he was simply doing what his father had taught him; politely asking a pokémon if they were interested in joining his party. Moved by N's unorthodox pacifist approach, (since Reshiram heard that humans tend to make peaceful compromises with each other when they agreed on a deal), Reshiram tapped N’s Master Ball with his snout and allowed himself to be caught. 

N's pokédex, which was in Ghetsis' bag suddenly beeped with its celebratory sixteen-bit melody because N captured and recorded a new, previously unseen pokémon.

Curious, Anthea grabbed N's pokédex. And clicked on its latest entry, which said, "Reshiram. The Vast White Pokémon. When Reshiram's tail flares, the heat energy moves the atmosphere and changes the world's weather."

"Father, are we going to let that pokémon flood the world to help Team Plasma win?" asked Concordia.

"My goddess, no…," sighed Ghetsis, who reached over and clicked on the alternate entries. 

The pokédex said, "Reshiram. The Vast White Pokémon. This legendary Pokémon can scorch the world with fire. It helps those who want to build a world of truth."

Anthea reached over and covered Concordia's mouth. Even though Ghetsis always spoke about building _an ideal_ world where pokémon and people were separated, he had no choice but to accept that his world was going to be a truthful one instead. Unable to accept the failure to summon Zekrom because Reshiram was summoned instead, Ghetsis burst into tears and sobbed inconsolably. His daughters tried to comfort him, but it was no use. Ghetsis broke down because he didn’t win as he had hoped and assumed he had lost, like he always did.

N kept Reshiram in the Master Ball for a couple of seconds, before letting him out. N rushed to his father's side and tried to comfort him too. Reshiram continued to observe N, and had no idea what to do because it was the first time, in a long time, that he had seen someone worthy of being the Hero of Truth. 

* * *

Kyurem frowned. Reshiram's anecdote made him feel worse because his trainer was nothing like this hero. Kyurem's trainer was a man who lacked many morals. Yet in his amorality, he was more moral than his immoral countrymen. Kyurem had no need to say anything, Reshiram understood his sentiment. He too was forced to be with a trainer that was an awful man but the most noble one among worse men.

The dragons chatted with each other until N emerged from the hexagonal house. N waited for Reshiram to finish his conversation with Kyurem because he didn't want to interrupt them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * This chapter, and other ones later on, were just me poking fun at the concept that “pokémon and humans are equals”, and “pokémon aren’t evil, only their trainers.” The latter is simply untrue when it comes to IRL animals. 
>   * I don’t think Kyurem has pit organs (orifices near the nostrils) that detect temperature like rattlesnakes. I just thought this was something interesting to give it. It appears that Kyurem lacks a sense of smell since it couldn’t smell the cold human that relentlessly pursued it for decades. 
>   * This was the chapter that made me look up if cicadas live in New York, which they do. I thought it was just a Southern thing and that they scream in the summer. This was both good and bad, but I think it’s something that many of y’all see as good, so it doesn’t matter.
>   * I looked it up and N apparently says nothing special when summoning his dragons. So I decided to make him say something totally relevant to Pokémon. But then, N is truly the Hero of Ideals. Because if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to summon Reshiram anyway.
>   * The Truth is that this Ghetsis was the purest Rainbow Rocket member; the most innocent and the least bloodthirsty, despite going feral. This Truth upsets Reshiram greatly. But he can’t say much about it without offending N, who takes any insult towards his father as a personal offense. 
> 



	15. A Natural State of Being

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N reflects over the folkloric being known as "Unova Man". After thinking about him for a while, N decides it's time to go back home.

Upon sensing N approach, Kyurem suddenly flew away. Reshiram frowned because he wanted to introduce N to Kyurem. Curious, N asked Reshiram, “Who was that?”

“Kyurem,” replied Reshiram. “One of the oldest pokémon in Unova. So old that they can’t even remember their own origins. Kyurem is a fragment of their former self. Long ago they attempted to broker peace between two warring human monarchs by dividing themselves into thirds. One of those fragmented thirds is me and the other is Zekrom.”

N gasped. “…I need Kyurem’s help to solve my puzzle. I hope we can meet them again. This is important.”

“I hope so too,” replied Reshiram. “Kyurem told me that their trainer just keeps them in the ball. Today, it seems, it was their lucky day to go out.”

N sighed. In his visions, he was warned of soulless trainers who travel across the lands, searching far and wide for the rarest pokémon, only to keep them locked in their PC boxes forever. It was unjust for Kyurem to have this fate. Trying to change the subject, N asked, “May I ask you for a favor? It is unrelated to Kyurem."

“Go ahead, your majesty,” replied Reshiram.

“Can you help me get to Pinwheel Manor?” asked N. “I’m scared of traveling on these rainbow bridges. They don’t look like they were designed for humans to cross.”

“Yes,” replied Reshiram, who allowed N to climb on his back and hang on. Reshiram approached the sign near the bridge and chose Pinwheel Manor as his destination, teleporting there along with N.

When they arrived at Pinwheel Manor, where his buddy Zorua, Marrón, lived, N got off of Reshiram but was dizzy from teleportation. He could barely walk. But Reshiram grabbed a hold of N, so he wouldn’t fall down.

Marrón’s mom, Zoroark, spotted them and went to meet them. She was surprised by N’s return, since she expected him to travel to the Island of Dreams instead. Marrón rushed out of his house and leaped into N’s arms. Both of them had planned to travel together to the Island of Dreams because N had no idea how to get there. N didn’t think he’d run into Reshiram in the Dream World either. He didn’t want his buddy, Marrón, to worry about him.

Concerned, Zoroark created an illusion to hide N, as she led them all back into the mansion. She took them to the innermost room, away from all the windows. Once everything was settled, his buddy Zorua pulled out a dried berry he had saved inside his fluffy coat and handed it to N. Assuming his friend was hungry after the trade negotiations, Zorua wanted to have something ready for N.

N got the dried berry, thanked Zorua, wiped it on his sleeve before taking a big bite out of it. Even though Reshiram had spent almost 4 years with N and his family, he still found it jarring that N did not behave like a proper monarch. N’s father, Ghetsis, did not behave like a proper monarch either, and N was always trying to emulate him. But being the Dream World, Reshiram was unable to hide his annoyance with N.

Concerned, N stopped eating and Reshiram got upset because he didn’t mean to hurt N’s feelings. Reshiram covered his face and said, “Forgive me, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to a king acting like some sort of wild man.”

“A lot can happen in 60 years,” replied Zorua. “The Harmonias weren’t the rulers during all those years.”

“But that’s the thing, they were never kicked out of their home!” cried Reshiram. “Why did they go from prim and proper to feral? This confuses me.”

“Because N’s father embraced nature,” replied Zoroark. “From what we’ve been told, he did it the moment he exited the first gym he battled in when he was a boy. He wanted to free himself from the strictness of court life and headed into the forest where he avoided other humans until a month or so before Plasmas because he was still bound to attend that family photoshoot.”

“Who told you this?” asked Reshiram.

“N’s father’s pokémon friends,” replied Zoroark. “I was curious myself, since that man is capable of surviving in the wild without any assistance. Rich humans usually can’t survive without their amenities. They all told me the same thing on different occasions.”

“Father told me about his journey,” said N happily. “He said he and his friends were camping, and having fun while traveling throughout the countryside.”

Zoroark smiled uncomfortably. “You see…that’s not exactly what I was told.” She struggled to word her thoughts and said, “I was told your father stopped behaving like a regular human; that he started acting like a pokémon instead and was battling against wild encounters himself. His friends said that they all leveled up together during those 2 years, until his mother forbade him to continue his adventure and ordered them to return home immediately.”

“Why'd she stop them?” asked Zorua.

“His mother had heard reports of ‘Unova Man’ sightings in the countryside,” replied Zoroark. “During this time, it was believed that Unova Man, the local cryptid that’s neither man nor pokémon, had awakened due to a war that took place in a distant region. Unova was sending its soldiers to help fight in this war, and it seems that Unova Man did not approve of this, so he was spotted wandering around the woods. Multiple witnesses, in a span of a couple of weeks, claimed to have seen him.”

N frowned. Admittedly, he knew all too well what had occurred. When N went on his adventure, back in 2005 (shortly before the Decepticon attack on Autobot City) he also decided to embrace nature – which meant he was running around the deep forests with his pokémon friends, buck naked. Like his father, he also trained with his pokémon friends and they all grew stronger. Unlike his father, N regularly went to town and interacted with other people. But only because wild pokémon found out that N could speak to them, and they needed someone trustworthy to bring them specific items. Not to mention, N had totally different motivations to train.

Growing up, father was constantly warning and discouraging him from learning any more pokémon moves or else N would lose both his physical and spiritual purity. But in his heart, N doubted his father’s words. Ghetsis was visibly affected, yet it appeared his soul still retained much of its innocence. Pokémon instinctively avoided wicked humans, but many of them were drawn to Ghetsis and eager to meet him. Nevertheless, N decided to learn all he could while he was away from home as both an experiment and as a challenge. As far as he was concerned, Ghetsis was just overreacting, as usual and everything would be fine.

As N suspected, nothing terrible happened to him. He had mastered more than 15 moves and his body was fine. His body did change in the fact he grew more muscular, since it felt like a constant workout keeping his powers under control. But he wasn’t disfigured or in any pain. Unfortunately, he realized too late that something terrible did happen to him. When N had decided to go to the nearest town to purchase some potions, in 2006, he saw his blurry photo prominently featured in a tabloid magazine. The headline read, “Unova Man Returns 27 Years Later.” (According to the article, people were speculating that Unova Man was reawakened by Team Galactic’s meddling with Space and Time, in the distant Sinnoh region.)

Due to the nature of training like a pokémon, N's actions appeared supernatural and terrifying because he manipulated the elements around him during battle. For this reason, the random trainers who saw N training in the forest could not comprehend that he was a human like them. The energy he channeled made him into something that was unlike them. N wasn't upset about being seen in the nude, since he was not ashamed of his body. Instead, he was upset at his appearance and its uncanny resemblance to the Unova Man from folklore – an inhuman freak without a human heart, because Unova Man lost both his heart and soul when he rejected his humanity. (Doesn’t help that Unova Man is often described as a very tall, slim man who was as pale as a corpse, with long mossy green hair and had a piercing inhuman gaze.)

Seeing his own cruel and wicked appearance horrified N because that’s not who he was, or hoped to ever be.

He remembered Darmanitan’s words from a year earlier, where he told N that it was impossible to teach him Zen Mode, because N was not from his evolutionary line. Unlike other pokémon, the Darumaka/Darmanitan line was able to harness their spiritual energy to use in battle. Humans also had the capability of attaining such high levels of spirituality which could be converted into energy. But no human, in modern history, had ever successfully learned Zen Mode. The photo that N saw in the tabloid magazine was of someone with a deeply malnourished spirituality and for this reason, he had become so monstrous. This revelation was shocking, yet it made perfect sense.

N wondered if this was the reason why his father decided to become a priest. It appeared that Ghetsis had figured out that he needed spiritual training as well, in order to perfect his mastering of pokémon moves and abilities. N couldn’t help but feel regret for mentally rejecting his father’s religious beliefs and customs as a preteen. (He feared upsetting and disappointing Ghetsis by disagreeing with him.) Pokémon training was extremely difficult for humans to do, since it’s not our nature to learn it or explain it. N realized that Ghetsis was only trying to help him and his sisters, but was unable to explain why. He just insisted that they follow along for their own good. Since his revelation, N fully embraced Plasmanity, and was able to learn Zen Mode thanks to it.

“Unova Man is a terrifying sight to behold,” replied N, his frankness worried Zorua, since N was speaking from the heart. “Grandmother had good reason to forbid him.”

“You saw Unova Man?” asked Zoroark.

“Yes Ma’am, in a magazine,” replied N. “I can assure you that what I saw wasn’t a hoax. It was a corrupted human who had become a monster. The traits considered ‘human’ such as his heart, soul, and dignity were gone. In his desire for power, he cast them aside and became that pitiful creature. Seeing his blurred, but empty gaze horrified me so much that I’ll do whatever I can to never become someone like him.”

“You are clearly succeeding,” said Zoroark. “It is said that a human who learns around 10 moves becomes corrupted, yet you…you know much more than that and you look Normal. Whatever you’re doing is working and that's great!”

“Yes Ma’am,” replied N. “And thank you.”

They chatted for a bit, before N, Zorua, and Reshiram realized it was time to return home. They bid Zoroark and the rest of the family farewell and headed to the Island of Dreams. When they arrived there, they were not alone. Other pokémon were there too. Some of them pinned their wish to be reunited with their new allies in the real world to the Tree of Dreams, before going back home. Reshiram observed the other pokémon there and sniffed the air. 

Noticing Reshiram’s concerned expression N asked, “Is something the matter?”

“No, your majesty,” replied Reshiram. The trio approached the Tree of Dreams. As they did, Reshiram turned to N, “Will you do the honors?”

N blushed. He had no idea what to do. Zorua approached the tree and made his wish, for all three of them to return safely to the castle. They curled up closely together and faded away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * I’m just trying to figure out how to keep N like a “wild boy”, even though this particular N has lived with his family most of his life. In real-world cases, such wild children suffer psychological developmental problems and can never really learn how to speak. (This is also why I think that canon!N is a liar. Even the way he speaks to pokémon felt…like it was strange theatrics. That’s…not how you would talk to friends you consider as equals.) 
>   * “Unova Man” is supposed to be a cryptid but also the Florida Man meme. Cedric Juniper chose not to classify Unova Man as a pokémon, because part of the “folklore” surrounding Unova Man was perpetuated by Kantonian invaders to discredit and insult the Harmonias, since its physical description is too similar to a male Harmonia. However, the general public never conflated the two. Unova Man was a chaotic dangerous creature. The male Harmonias were all pokémon-loving, harmless cuties. 
>   * Ghetsis decided to be a priest for the same reason he set out on his own adventure – to get away from society and other humans but in a way that “doesn’t bring shame to his family.” This also failed, because his exchange student friends he made in college decided to join him and all of them became sages. At this point, Ghetsis gave up trying to be alone, which may or may not have impacted his mental health. 
> 



End file.
